The Queen and the Common Engineer
by Gold Ninetails
Summary: What would happen if things have been changed by a weird dude messing with a time machine? What if Cerinia didn't blow up? What if Fox isn't the Fox we know today? *I KNOW the title has nothing to do with the sequel. REVEIW!! Sequel short, so what?
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own StarFox or the characters created by Nintendo. Understand me? Good.  
  
Introduction: I wrote this because if I continued on my other story, then things will get a lot less action-y. Everything is different, well, almost everything. You should figure it out by the end of this chapter. Some of it, anyway. Erm. History changed because some weird dude messed with a time machine. Yeah.  
  
  
  
"Fox, how's that new engine coming along?" James asked as he flopped himself down on a bench near where Fox was working.  
  
"Nearly done, dad. There are a few glitches. I think I may need a bigger jet battery." Fox whacked the metal container a few times with a wrench and it started up with a loud whir, "Ah, maybe not." James smiled. He was very proud of his twelve-year-old kit. Even though Fox McCloud didn't act like a kit anymore.  
  
"Slow down, Fox. It really doesn't matter how fast you do it, it-"  
  
"Is if you've finished it at the end. I know, dad."  
  
Fox was always interested in astronomy and engineering, so he spent a lot of his free time making a new telescope or upgrading the design on his father's hover car. James didn't mind having a few cars blown up, just as long Fox was learning something. James, the leader of the StarFox team, wanted Fox on his crew after he was done elementary school. James decided that his old friend, Peppy Hare, could teach Fox the rest of junior high basics.  
  
Fox was a very strong kit for his age. Born the only kit of Vixy Renard, who died when she was giving birth, and James McCloud, Fox proved very strong minded even though of early kithood nightmares. One of them including his best friend's, Bill Grey, death just last year because of a freak train accident. Besides Bill, Fox didn't have many friends.  
  
James was sent on a mission by General Pepper of the Cornerian Defense Army to check out strange activity from a planet named Venom. Frankly, Albert Hemstrum, an evil fox scientist gone mad, wants war. James personally didn't like Fox on the mission, but the stubborn kit refused to be left behind and sneaked on board using one of James' old suitcases.  
  
"We might need that someday, Fox," James pointed at an old screwdriver that Fox was aiming to throw into the garbage can. Fox nodded and set it down.  
  
The Great Fox was pretty large, with three bedrooms, one for each Peppy, James, and Fox, a kitchen, a den, a cockpit, the engine room, and the vehicle bay. The last two took up the biggest spaces. It was painted either white or stuck on metallic for the most part of the walls. Everything else, except the clothes, was white, too. A lift was on Fox's right, and the vehicle bay door to the outside was closed shut on the other side. The halls were large as well, with florescent bulbs around the edges of the floor.  
  
Suddenly, the lift dinged and Peppy came out of the elevator. Being a young rabbit in his early twenties, Peppy was energetic and excited most of the time. He was a good pilot and a good navigator, and he was really funny, too. Fox really liked him.  
  
"Hey, James. I think we'll be entering Area 6 in a few hours, so ya might wanna get prepared. Just a thought, though."  
  
"Good thinking, old buddy," James said, pulling his battle shades from his pocket and pushing them on, "Lets go. Fox, stay here, and remember to not be hanging around when the doors open."  
  
"Yeah, I know, dad. Don't worry," Fox smiled as James jumped into the cockpit of his Arwing. Pointing at the lift and starting up his liquid hydrogen engine at the same time, James didn't look the least bit worried. Fox mouthed 'I know' to his father and ran to the lift. Just as the door to the elevator closed, Fox heard a whoosh and a hydraulic piston being moved. His father had just went into the depths of space.  
  
Needless to say, Fox was worried about his father. This Albert guy seemed pretty mean, and Fox needed to make sure that his father was all right.  
  
"Hey, Rob," Fox called over his communicator, "How long until my dad reaches Venom?"  
  
"Approximation, two hours."  
  
"Thanks," Fox opened the lift again and walked over to the Arwing that he had just finished building.  
  
**  
  
"Watch it, James!" Peppy yelled as a swarm of fighters zoomed from the large vessels and sped toward the two specks in the sky. James chuckled.  
  
"If that's the best they can do, this'll be a cinch," James waited until they were close enough, then he dropped a Nova Bomb on them. Over sixty of them blew up right away and another forty swerved away and crashed into each other.  
  
"I don't know. I think this is just a plan for us to let our guard down," Peppy said softly as he fired wildly with lasers.  
  
"Isn't it always?" James smiled.  
  
"I think it is," Peppy grinned back.  
  
Two blue and white jets screaming across the skies suddenly punctured Venom's green atmosphere. Venom itself was a desert wasteland of death. If you used a shovel and dug a bit on the ground, you would find bones of the dead in less than a minute. The air was polluted with carbon molecules. It would be very hard to breathe, but it was possible.  
  
"There's a landing sight there," James pointed. Peppy banked along with him and they both settled down a mile from a large base. Peppy and James both put on gas masks and jumped out, blasters ready at paw.  
  
"Something's wrong," Peppy whispered over the com-link as they both trudged through the desert.  
  
"Yeah. I'm cold."  
  
"No, really, Jimmy. Why haven't they attacked us yet?" Peppy raised his gun in alarm as a clang sounded, "What was that?"  
  
"Relax, Pep. That's just the door opening for us," James said with irony as he pointed at the base. The whole thing was metal. It looked all solid until a small door opened right in front of them, a few yards away.  
  
"Uh, you go in first," Peppy stuttered.  
  
"Tsk, ya should've been named Pampered Chicken."  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?"  
  
"Did you ever really do that flight test back at the academy?" James asked as he walked right into the base, apparently unconcerned. The hall was rather wide, with no doors on either side, just halls branching off in different directions.  
  
"No."  
  
"Did you pass the test on ground combat?"  
  
"Yeah, I think so."  
  
"Then shoot," James said as ten Venomian soldiers popped out of the corner of the metal hallway. Peppy panicked as they started shooting madly. James shot back immediately, taking down four of them. Peppy followed suit, maiming down the rest of the roost.  
  
"Wow. Good aim for a pilot," Peppy heaved out a sigh.  
  
"Shut it, wise guy," James smiled as he threw off his gas mask, "This thing is really uncomfortable."  
  
"Yeah," Peppy grunted as he pulled his off, too, and threw it to the ground next to him, "If I get another surprise like that, I'm g-"  
  
"HI, PEPPY!"  
  
"GAH!" Peppy fell over in shock. James just turned his head and scowled.  
  
"I thought I told you to stay put," he frowned. Fox smiled and ripped off his gas mask.  
  
"Yeah, but do I ever follow instructions?"  
  
"You. Little punk." Peppy gasped between breaths. Fox's smile grew bigger, and Peppy couldn't help but smirk, too.  
  
"Are you mad, dad?" Fox asked, turning to James.  
  
"Oh, I'm fuming, but as long as you have a gun, come on," James pulled his two crewmen along as Fox fiddled with his rifle; the biggest one he could find in the engine room. The engine room also doubled as a weapons cache.  
  
"A G-563, Katina design with some Cornerian upgrades. It has extremely heavy fire; one impact laser is enough to melt six inches of steel. Is that good enough?" Fox waved it around with one arm. The rifle had a clip the size of one of Peppy's ears, and the rifle itself was heavy titanium, half the height of James. Peppy stared.  
  
"Wow, I can't even lift that thing!" Peppy shook his head is disbelief, his gray ears flopping side to side.  
  
**  
  
"Duck, Fox!" James shoved his son out of the way as a volley of lasers punched holes in the wall behind him. The metal melted and soon, the whole right-paw wall was deformed.  
  
"Oh, crap. Is that Albert?" Peppy asked as he ran across the room, occasionally shooting blind lasers at the guys who were pouring in from the elevators. Among them, a black robed, gray fox was shouting commands.  
  
"Yeah," James shot again. One of his shots hit a guard's head, spilling blood and brain fluid. Fox nearly threw up.  
  
"Ugh! I'm hit!" Peppy fell down just as he reached the table that they were hiding behind. His left arm was bleeding furiously, spilling blood all over the metal floor. Fox tried to ignore Peppy's gasps as he aimed the rifle at anyone who came close to them.  
  
"Wait for it," James said to Fox as he shot the guards. They started to back off. Fox let out a sigh of relief, but that was before he saw the grenade.  
  
"Oh, crap," Peppy whispered as they ran out from the table. Peppy, being a fast runner, reached the hall first, ushering Fox and James on. Then the terrible happened: A stray laser shot James from the guards. Falling with a thud on the ground, James gave a hard look at Fox as he tried to help.  
  
"Get lost, dog!" James then brought out his gun and shot a few warning shots at Fox's feet and that sent him fleeing. A moment after Fox ducked into the hall, a deafening explosion was heard, and the flash blinded Fox for a moment. James was caught right in the blast.  
  
"No! JAMES!" Peppy brought his own grenade from one of his pocket and pulled the pin, "You'll pay, Albert!" Peppy then flung the projectile with his good arm and watched in victory as Albert the mad scientist was blown to bits from the explosive.  
  
"Come on!" Fox pulled on Peppy's coat as more guards came out of the vents and shafts of the elevator. Fox's father was dead. Now, Fox had no more living family, except for Peppy Hare, his godfather.  
  
***  
  
"Princess? Dinner is served," Tacker, the royal servant fox, peeked into the young vixen's bedroom.  
  
"Yes, just a minute. Are you.? Hey! Close that door!" The young princess turned her head at the butler and gave him a cold stare, quickly covering her naked body with a thin cloth, but with her buttocks exposed. Tacker immediately closed the wooden door. The hinges squeaked noisily as they allowed the door to swing closed.  
  
The princess was a fair young maid, with short, shiny locks of hair and sleek fur. She was only twelve, but she was expected to do so much. She was to rule the entire planet when her mother, Queen Rainer, died. By her current condition, that was going to be a long time. The Queen liked to spend her spare time roaming around the forests and the mountains, using her bow and arrows to hunt down those walking mushrooms that she like so much. The Queen looked a lot like the young princess, only with longer strands of hair.  
  
The princess was very stubborn for a member of royalty. She wanted to learn to use magic like a sorceress and use the magic staff of the Wizard of Ages. She was coming well in her lessons, but she still was too young to use it outside of palace grounds.  
  
Speaking of the palace, it was a magnificent structure. Fancy stone walls on top of a large hill surrounded it over looking the village on one side and the ocean on the other. Towers and currents were built, but just for aesthetics: the kingdom was never really attacked by invaders. The palace, castle, more like, was built of colorful marble with glass windows and long corridors. The royalty, along with the Prime Minister and the people's representatives, dined in the main hall. The main hall was long and wide, big enough for at least twenty of a villager's house inside.  
  
Gardens were outside, with ponds and two orchards. The sweet smell of flowers in the spring lured the princess to wander around outdoors often times. The princess loved the outdoors. She loved to keep the window open in her royal suite, which was very big and had many things inside, like chairs, desks, drawers, and a fancy bed with those silk overhangs. The princess liked her marble walls pale green, instead of her mother's bright blue. Her eyes were also a bright green, for that matter.  
  
The princess was, in fact, not like other princesses at all. She was curious, for one, and she loved to talk with the peasants. She also loved to run and play sports, which was most unusual for a vixen in those parts. She was also very strong physically and mentally. She had endured her father's gruesome drowning, after all.  
  
"Hmm. Tacker? You can come in now," the princess called. Tacker almost immediately opened the door and walked in.  
  
"Yes, your highness?" The dog fox asked, his white tunic fluttering from the wind of the open window as he walked.  
  
"Don't call me that," the princess said, turning around to face the servant, "Do I look nice?"  
  
"Of course."  
  
"Well, you're supposed to say that. But really, what do you see when you look at me in this dress?" The princess tugged at the green silks. The dress was of those old fashioned ones, the ones that were bigger and heavier.  
  
"Well, truthfully."  
  
"Go on, Tacker. I command you to speak your mind."  
  
"You look beautiful. If I wouldn't be hanged if I tried to marry you, I would," Tacker smiled. He was thirty, but the normal age for males to marry in their planet was around forty. The princess hated that. What she really didn't want was some old hack proposing to her. She much preferred someone who was younger and someone who cared for her, like Tacker.  
  
"Why can't you be like this all the time?" The princess asked, grinning widely. She bent over and planted a kiss on Tacker's furry cheek. He blushed furiously.  
  
"Your mother would kill me."  
  
"Hmm, point taken," the princess chuckled as Tacker escorted her out the door and down the marble staircase.  
  
**  
  
"This is a wonderful evening," the Queen said.  
  
"Isn't it always?" The princess grinned as she helped her self to a plateful of tuna. Tacker, behind her, licked his lips. The princess saw him, "Here, take this." She shoved a large plate of it into Tacker's arms without anyone seeing.  
  
"If I didn't have my head hanging on the line for saying this, I would tell you that I loved you," Tacker whispered in her ear before he ran off to his quarters to enjoy his meal instead of the potatoes that he usually gets. The princess smiled.  
  
The table was heavy oak, and foxes were sitting around it, eating from different platters, each talking loudly about gossip or the latest joke from the court jester. Everyone was in a good mood.  
  
The princess, the Queen, and the Prime Minister all sat in velvety, golden framed chairs. Guards stood behind them, each with swords or spears ready at hand. It was quite useless, but tonight, it wouldn't be. That's because just at the moment that the Queen was about to address the government officials about her new policy on taxes, a rouge fox crashed into the hall, with a knife on Tacker's throat.  
  
"Drop your weapons," he shouted, but the guards didn't. They pressed forward, weapons raised. The intruder nicked Tacker's neck and he gurgled unhappily.  
  
"Stop!" The princess shouted to the guards. They complied. She then turned to the attacker, "Who are you and what do you want?"  
  
"I was supposed to be the Prime Minister, but that fool beat me to it! Do you know how much I sacrificed? I starved myself just for the education on government!" He ranted.  
  
"The people vote. We have nothing to do with who becomes who. Now, let him go."  
  
"No! I will have my vengeance first!" The attacker suddenly flung the knife at the Prime Minister. Maybe Tacker's sudden movement of kicking him in the shins distracted him, or maybe he just had bad aim, but the knife missed the Prime Minister totally. Instead, it cut a very shallow cut on the princess's cheek and the knife itself got lodged in the Queen's chest, right in her heart. The Queen managed to whisper a quick prayer before she died.  
  
The attacker was horrified that he had killed the wrong person and decided to flee. He snapped Tacker's neck with a quick movement, but he didn't get anywhere after that: The guards' swords cut off his head.  
  
"No." The princess whispered softly as she looked at the two dead bodies of the people that she cared most about. Her mother lay dead on the cold marble floor, and her loyal servant, who had just declared his love for her a minute ago, also laid on the stone, his neck and head in an awkward position.  
  
The bodies were quickly taken care of, and the funeral was scheduled for an hour later. But, first, the people must acknowledge their new leader. The princess was made to stand on the balcony, and then the bells ran. People flocked into the castle grounds. A moment later, when the Prime Minister was certain that there was enough people, he bellowed out:  
  
"All hail Queen Krystal, Ruler of Cerinia!"  
  
**  
  
A/N: Okay, if you don't get it, Fox is an engineer instead of a pilot. His mom died before he even looked at her the first time, and now his dad is dead. Peppy is made to take care of him, and the Andross equivalent, Albert, is dead. Krystal, on the other hand, is royalty. She still has a staff, but she isn't a warrior just yet, and she rules a planet that wasn't blown to bits. Tacker, the butler dude, died along with her mother in front of her eyes, and so did her father, although my story doesn't show. What a mouthful! This story shouldn't be more than four or five medium- sized chapters more. 


	2. Does life suck or what?

Disclaimer: I don't own StarFox or the characters created by Nintendo. Understand me? Good.  
  
Introduction: I wrote this because if I continued on my other story, then things will get a lot less action-y. Everything is different, well, almost everything. You should figure it out by the end of this chapter. Some of it, anyway. Erm. History changed because some weird dude messed with a time machine. Yeah.  
  
  
  
"Peppy? Hey! What is that thing?" Fox stared as Peppy pulled something out of his pocket that looked like a shriveled kumquat. Peppy set it on the kitchen table and Fox stared at it.  
  
"Take a guess," Peppy smiled, his buckteeth showing in the white light. Fox chewed on his tuna for a moment.  
  
"Is it a plastic explosive?"  
  
"Ha! No."  
  
"Is it something that your dead father left for you?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Fine, I give up. What is it?"  
  
"It's a dried kumquat."  
  
"."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
Fox shook his head, bursting out in hysterics before going back to his tuna.  
  
Living on the Great Fox is pretty dull, but those are the days when Peppy is off teaching trainees at the academy. The Great Fox itself was stationed in a hanger overlooking a small town. Typically boring, unless Peppy drags Fox off into a bar. Then it gets kinda funny watching a hyperactive, but not drunk, Peppy flirting with girls. Peppy never gets drunk, only a bit more hyper and giddy. A small bit, only, so he was actually bearable when he drinks one or two vodka martinis. Fox couldn't remember the last time he even touched alcohol. Whenever Fox goes into a bar, he would flirt hopelessly with a female dog or the odd cat. Fox was beginning to think if he should look in a jazz club instead of a bar.  
  
"So, do you want to go to that new club in town?" Fox asked, finishing up his tuna while watching Peppy nibble on a carrot.  
  
"Eh, what can it hurt?" Peppy shrugged and gulped down the rest of his carrot and led Fox out.  
  
**  
  
"Mmm, I love that music!" Fox smiled as he listened to a young tigress playing on an alto saxophone.  
  
"It doesn't sound that bad." Peppy shrugged as he sipped his alcohol- less martini. Fox didn't tell him, and he didn't seem to notice the difference.  
  
"She does look kinda cute," Fox murmured to Peppy as Fox swigged his mango juice.  
  
"Then go talk to her! Darn it, Fox, you're 18 and you're still a v-"  
  
"Don't say it! You're thirty-three and your idea of a serious relationship lasts two nights," Fox snickered.  
  
"Yeah, but at least I get la-"  
  
"Don't!" Fox put a paw against Peppy's mouth. Peppy shrugged him off.  
  
"Did we have this conversation before?" He asked.  
  
"Every day since I was 16. What kind of godfather actually encourages the kit to get l-"  
  
"Hey, shut it, Junior. For your information, I do think going to clubs actually boosts your self-esteem and it also prepares you for the later things in life," Peppy took another sip of his water martini.  
  
"Yeah, it prepares me to have-"  
  
"Be quiet! You're making me look like a bad guardian," Peppy clamped his large paw on Fox's snout and squeezed. Fox couldn't do anything but grit his canine teeth and mumble incoherently.  
  
**  
  
"Oh, please shut up!" Fox groaned as Peppy howled with laughter. He'd been laughing all the way from the jazz club, and he was still making like a hyena high on drugs. Fox desperately wanted to take his wrench and beat the rabbit with it. Fox took a carrot from the fridge and stuck it in Peppy's mouth. He immediately stopped laughing and started nibbling quickly.  
  
"Mmm. Oh, good job, Fox! I really think she liked you," Peppy said sarcastically.  
  
"Shut your yap," Fox mumbled angrily as he stormed out of the kitchen and into his bedroom. If there were anyone who could mess up words like Fox, he'd be darned.  
  
"Hey, Fox! I think you just found a very nice way to make a girl mad. Who would've thought that commenting on her butt was a nice way to break the ice?" Peppy laughed in the doorway.  
  
"Lay off, Peppy."  
  
"Oh, whatever, I do feel kinda tired. See you in the morning, Fox," with that, Peppy closed the hydraulic door and went to his cabin.  
  
Fox groaned in his pillow and thought: If he could just get out of this living nightmare of no romance, he'd be very, very happy.  
  
***  
  
"Queen Krystal, you know you have to find a mate to continue on the throne," Prime Minister Kohan said, running after the distressed vixen.  
  
"Is that all you care about? The throne? What about my feelings? You never care about me!" Krystal angrily slammed her door in Kohan's face. For sixteen years, she had been pressured to marry some old duke from far away. Now, she was eighteen, and she didn't want anyone constantly reminding her that the average age for marriage was seven years before her age now.  
  
Krystal looked out her open window. The open glass panes overlooked the village, then the forest, eastward. Krystal needed some time off, and she knew it. Taking off her green dress and slipping on some old pheasant clothes from a dark corner in her closet instead, the Queen grabbed her staff, swung it around her shoulder with a leather strap, and hopped out the fourth story window, into the flower garden.  
  
**  
  
"Ugh!" Krystal grunted as she hit the soft earth with a soft thud. Straightening her posture and smoothing out the wrinkles in the gray tunic, Krystal dodged behind a few guards and slid through the wide bars in the gate. She was pretty slim, after all.  
  
Krystal ran quickly along the sloping dirt road, occasionally being uncontrolled because of the steep decline. Krystal actually smashed into a few trees before entering the village boundaries, which were marked with stone and marble lined with silver and gold.  
  
The village was composed mainly of two story stone houses. Cerinia was a rich planet, though small. The four provinces outside royal territory was ruled by dukes or duchesses, and they rarely had any problems with the economy, either. This village was especially rich because of the various gold mines nearby. The majority of the peasants here were either gold miners or shop owners. The other provinces controlled the agricultural business.  
  
Foxes went this way and that, carrying bags of gold home or shopping for supplies. Occasionally, a food merchant would walk down the street, calling what he has to sell. Here comes one now.  
  
"Fresh vegetables! Get your fresh vegetables right here, right now! I've got carrots, beans, lettuce, broccoli, and tomatoes! Grown on the healthy earth of the Sikoman Mountain Range!" A merchant in fancy blue robes cried, jingling his bell while heaving his huge cart along. Krystal, feeling a fresh wave of hunger, as she skipped both breakfast and lunch, dug out a gold piece from her tunic.  
  
"Give me three tomatoes!" Krystal ran up to the merchant, waving the gold coin over her head. The merchant happily chose three big red plants from his cart and rinsed them with a bucket of water, also attached to his cart. Shoving the coin eagerly in his paws, Krystal took the tomatoes. Stuffing two in her pocket, she took a big bite out of the other.  
  
"Any gossip around these parts, fair maid? I'll tell ye a story or two from the hills and valleys if you tell me one about the shore," the blue dog fox said, handing Krystal her change: Four sliver dollars and three copper coins. Krystal swallowed the rest of her tomato, and putting on a fake voice and a heavy seaside accent quite unlike her own, she said:  
  
"There ain't much to say or here around h're. 'Bout the only news it that the Queen Krystal haven't found herself a proper husband yet."  
  
"Ah, the poor lass. I heard she's going to be forced to mate with Duke Thunderby. I've heard some stories about him, and he's getting rather old himself. He has his teeth falling out like rain and the fur turning gray before your eyes! I wouldn't fancy myself, at the tender age of twenty- five, marrying someone that old," the merchant chuckled and dug out a carrot. Chewing on it thoughtfully, he went on, "The duke is a good dog, but he isn't much of company. He doesn't talk much, but I would suppose the Queen would like him if he were a wee bit younger. In his better days, he could shoot arrows, throw spears, and clear walls. He was a fine lad back then, and a lot more interesting."  
  
Krystal raised an eyebrow. This merchant did look fine and handsome, rich and from good blood, too. He did seem caring, and young. Better him than a fifty-year-old guy.  
  
"Tell me yer name, lad," Krystal said.  
  
"Ah, yours first, I'd say. I like fair trades, I do," the merchant chuckled again, clapping a paw softly on her shoulder. Krystal gulped loudly. The merchant looked at her funny.  
  
"Erm. I'm-"  
  
"HEY! You there!" A palace guard yelled, crashing down the hillside and pointing a spear at the merchant at the same time, "Get away from her majesty!"  
  
"Who?" He asked, politely puzzled.  
  
"Queen Krystal, you dolt!" The guard shouted, pulling his sleeve away from her. The merchant stared for a moment at Krystal, then bowed low on one knee.  
  
"I'm sorry, your highness. If I knew it was you, I would've given you those tomatoes for free."  
  
"Then what fun would it be to talk to you?" Krystal smiled, putting a finger below the merchant's chin and lifting his head up. He smiled back, but went back to bowing.  
  
"You should come back to the palace, Queen Krystal. Everyone is extremely worried," the guard said, pulling on Krystal's tunic. Krystal waved good-bye to the mountain merchant, being watched with respectful interest from all the other people on the streets.  
  
Taking out a tomato from the pocket in her tunic, Krystal mashed it in the guard's face. The guard scowled, but didn't say anything, his snout dripping with red juice.  
  
**  
  
"Oh, just the time I find a fox that is remotely interesting, I get pulled away from some knight in dull armor," Krystal mumbled to herself as she buried her short snout in her pillow. Krystal sighed and laid down on her bed, taking out the last tomato from the merchant and bit unhappily into it.  
  
Shifting her position a bit in her nightgown, Krystal silently prayed to the dark, night sky and the glimmering stars and moons, that she could finally find a fox that really cared about who she was, and not what she was.  
  
**  
  
A/N: Now it's getting somewhere. I would like to apologize to the people who actually like my longer chapters better, but they take way too much time to upload from my stupid computer, so I'll just cut the chapters into fifths. This way, people will actually read them. 


	3. The springs in the forest

Disclaimer: I don't own StarFox or the characters created by Nintendo. Understand me? Good.  
  
Introduction: I wrote this because if I continued on my other story, then things will get a lot less action-y. Everything is different, well, almost everything. Erm. History changed because some weird dude messed with a time machine. Yeah.  
  
  
  
"Aaargh! Stupid rubbish!" Fox threw his warp drive design against the wall of the hanger and watched it smash into little pieces. Peppy shook his head and laughed.  
  
"Impatient, just like your dad, how typical. Whenever he couldn't do something right, he'd throw something against the wall. Good job, Fox, and that one actually started up," Peppy tossed a metal nut into the air and caught it again, crossing his large feet on the bench.  
  
"I don't know what's the problem. Whenever I try to use it to transport this pencil, it always fries it up," Fox picked up a smoking piece of wood, "I would not like to be this little guy."  
  
"Hey, it works, doesn't it?" Peppy threw the nut into the bin and heard it clang noisily.  
  
"Sort of. Maybe I should make it less powerful."  
  
"You took the words right out of my mouth, how nice of you."  
  
"You're a horrible liar, Peppy."  
  
"I know."  
  
Fox took another generator from Rob and starting tinkering up on it. After a few seconds of banging, Fox switched it on.  
  
"Eh?" Peppy watched as Fox tied the pencil onto the shell and pressed a button. A whir and a flash later, the warp drive moved itself and the pencil a few yards onto another table.  
  
"YES! Oh, yeah, oh, yeah!" Fox did a little jig and took the pencil off the warp drive and threw it at Peppy, "How's that look?"  
  
"Hmm?" Peppy looked at the yellow piece of wood from every angle known to hare, "Yeah, it looks fine."  
  
"Cool," Fox started molding a frame for the warp drive, "I think I will be a good testing day tomorrow."  
  
**  
  
"Do you really think this is a good idea?" Peppy asked nervously as Fox powered up the engine to the Great Fox.  
  
"You need some time off from work, you said it yourself! Maybe we should go to Zoness and blow some money off at the yogurt stands."  
  
"Please don't fly so fast," Peppy murmured as he was thrown backward in his seat. Fox flipped a switch and a second later; they were soaring out of the skies of Corneria.  
  
"I can't remember the last time I saw space," Fox said, looking at the bright dot that was Katina. Behind the brown planet, stars twinkled just like Fox's own emerald eyes.  
  
"I think I can," Peppy gulped, "Is this gonna hurt?"  
  
"Maybe. Most likely, yeah," Fox smiled as he punched a button. Peppy heard the warp drive power up.  
  
"I am really gonna regret this." Peppy said as he felt himself get zapped into space.  
  
***  
  
"Ugh, what is this?" Krystal asked in disgust, pointing at an orange ball of mushy stuff that smelled really weird.  
  
"Mashed carrots, your majesty," Kohan said, digging his fork into the mound. Krystal pretended to retch. Kohan sighed and muttered under his breath, "If only Queen Rainer had given birth to a male, then I wouldn't be in this mess of bad discipline."  
  
"I heard that, Kohan. You're fired," Krystal said sternly. Kohan went stalk white. The Queen cracked up upon hearing him stutter excuses, "Oh, I'm kidding. Besides, I didn't even hear what you were saying. And another thing, Cerinian jurisdiction says that I can't fire a peoples' representative."  
  
"Well, at least you're coming along well in your studies," Kohan puffed. Krystal shrugged and poked her salmon.  
  
"I'm going out for the day. Don't you dare send guards after me, or else I swear I'm going to impale them with my staff," Krystal warned. Shoving her fork deep into the fish, she hooked out a huge piece of it, nearly three quarters of it all, and put it in her mouth and started chewing. Kohan shuddered.  
  
"Please, your majesty, we have guests," Kohan pointed at Duke Thunderby, who was really gray for a blue fox with only four canine teeth, "This may be your chance to get to know the duke."  
  
"Huh! I will not!" Krystal said, swallowing the fish and shoving the rest in her mouth, "I told you that I'm going out for the day. Don't, I say, don't follow me, Kohan. I really can stab you with a sharp object, you know. I didn't spend a third of my life in the woods for fun."  
  
"Yeah, yeah," Kohan muttered, "I would've much preferred if you had spent at least a second a day learning manners."  
  
"What was that?"  
  
"Oh, nothing, your royal majesty."  
  
"Cut that crap, Kohan, I hate that."  
  
"Don't swear!" Kohan hissed. Krystal rolled her eyes and stormed away without saying another word.  
  
***  
  
"Hmm, is it just me or does Zoness look a bit bluer than usual?" Fox peered at the planet now before them.  
  
"And since when does it have two moons?" Peppy asked, then gasped, "You IDIOT! You got us into some new planet! I thought you wanted to go to Zoness!"  
  
"Uh, I did. I think I overdid the power combining sequence."  
  
"Okay, now lets just figure out where we are," Peppy scrunched up his face, trying very hard not to burst out crying or panic.  
  
"I'm checking for familiar constellations. Uh, oh," Fox muttered as the screen to the computer said "No matches found".  
  
"We're done for. Not only are we near the wrong planet, we're in the wrong system, too."  
  
"Sorry, Pep. Just gimme a second, I'll see if I can warp us back to Corneria," Fox pressed a few buttons and the computer said "Not enough fuel cells for warp".  
  
"In so many ways this is going wrong," Peppy smashed his head on the control panel.  
  
"What can I say? Oh yeah, here's one: Whoops," Fox groaned, "We should look for raw fuel deposits down on that planet. I think I looks rich in minerals." Fox pressed a few buttons on the computer, analyzing the planet.  
  
"Fine, Fox, but you're gonna have your hide ripped off of you if this gets any worse."  
  
"By who?" Fox asked. Peppy glared at him angrily. Fox shivered a bit, "Never mind."  
  
***  
  
Krystal slipped on her tunic again, and making sure that she smudged her fur in the dirt a bit to make it a bit darker, went out the gate after jumping the window again.  
  
Hoping that he merchant had stayed for a while, Krystal raced down to the village and asked the peasants if he was seen.  
  
"Nay, I don't think he stayed. I think you should asked around the hotels, but I don't think he stayed there, either. Merchants like to move around, you know," a shop owner said, "Uh, and get yourself washed while you're at it. You've been working up in the mountain mines, I would suppose?"  
  
"Erm, yeah," Krystal said, suddenly gloomy again. The merchant had left. Thanking the shopkeeper anyway, Krystal made her way to the forest. The mountains were to the north. So the royal kingdom looked like this: North: Mountain range; West: Ocean; South: Plains and roads; East: The village and the forest. She didn't have time to reach the mountains and come back to the palace before nightfall, so she decided to wander around in the woods.  
  
Overgrown trails and grassy clearings were a part of the forest, and Krystal especially like to go to the springs, where a stream from the mountains goes into the forest, but cuts west toward the ocean when it meets a steep hill. The stream ended into a waterfall before becoming a wide river and flowing west, and that's where Krystal went to think. It was peaceful, since no one had found the place except for her.  
  
"Mmm," Krystal hummed a tune as she dipped her feet into the cool pond of the waterfall. There weren't any leeches, and Krystal was thankful for that. Sliding off her tunic, she dived into the pond and swam around, occasionally drifting this way and that, making sure every half hour that nobody was peeking in one her. Krystal wasn't embarrassed about being naked in a pool; it's just that Kohan was sure to send guards after her.  
  
***  
  
"Hey, there's a landing spot, over there, by the river and the waterfall," Fox pointed.  
  
"Okay, but set her down quietly, Fox, I think that's a city over there."  
  
"Define quietly."  
  
"The Merriam-Webster dictionary states that being quiet is 'accomplishing a task using the least amount of noise'."  
  
"Good enough," Fox shrugged as he tipped the Great Fox over the clearing and shut off the engines. He miscalculated the height of the Great Fox and the ship bumped down with a thud. At least it didn't carry far enough for the villagers to hear, but someone else with pointy, blue ears did.  
  
***  
  
"Huh? What was that?" Krystal asked herself. Thinking that Kohan was as bad as his word, she hid herself behind the waterfall, forgetting her gray tunic on the west shore.  
  
***  
  
"Conceal that gun, Fox. We don't wanna upset the citizens of this fine planet," Peppy smiled. Fox snorted.  
  
"I've seen prettier. That tree looks like a pile of dung!"  
  
"Well, that just may be beauty around these parts," Peppy chuckled, jumping off the ship, "Maybe we should head west towards the city. And maybe they'll understand a few words we say."  
  
"Just 'maybe'. That possibility is kinda low," Fox shrugged, strolling unconcernedly into the trees. He didn't walk fifty steps before he found the pond.  
  
***  
  
Krystal heard voices on the east bank, and she cowered between the splashing waterfall and the rocks behind it. There should've been a cave there, but it collapsed years ago. Krystal could now make out the words that they were saying.  
  
".Wow, now you've got to admit that that's pretty, Fox."  
  
"Yeah. I guess so. I feel like swimming, how 'bout you?"  
  
"Don't we have to swim to get across?"  
  
"I guess."  
  
"Hey, what's that?"  
  
Krystal heard splashing in the water. She mentally punched herself as she remembered her tunic. No matter, Kohan will fry for this.  
  
**  
  
A/N: This is actually beginning to sound good. I'm not planning on making this very action-y, so go away if you're a hardcore blood fan. I usually write about tragic losses of innocent lives. But this month, I don't really feel like it. 


	4. The ocean tuna

Disclaimer: I don't own StarFox or the characters created by Nintendo. Understand me? Good.  
  
Introduction: I wrote this because if I continued on my other story, then things will get a lot less action-y. Everything is different, well, almost everything. Erm. History changed because some weird dude messed with a time machine. Yeah.  
  
  
  
"Hmm, someone must've left it here," Peppy picked up the tunic and examined it. Turning it upside down, some money fell onto the ground. Peppy curiously picked up the gold and silver coins.  
  
"That's cool. Suppose we can buy some stuff from the village before we get the loot?" Fox asked, taking a coin from Peppy. Peppy shoved all the coins in Fox's paws and picked up the staff.  
  
"Loot? Big vocabulary for such a small brain," Peppy said, waving the stick around. Suddenly, it expanded and Peppy jumped back.  
  
"Nah, big vocabulary for a small ego. I wouldn't say the same about you, though," Fox smiled, dropping the coins in his pocket and tucking the tunic into a backpack he brought along.  
  
***  
  
"Loot? They must be space pirates," Krystal whispered to herself. Noticing through the waterfall there were two figures. An orange fox, quite uncommon, since Cerinia only had blue ones, and a rabbit. Krystal stared as the fox took her tunic, "What the. HEY!"  
  
"Uh-oh," the rabbit said, seeing Krystal jump out of the waterfall, still unclothed.  
  
"Gimme back my tunic!" Krystal shouted, concealed neck down in the water. The orange fox got the tunic from his pack with no great hurry as the rabbit stared at her. The fox threw the tunic at her and she caught it, slipping it on quickly.  
  
"Then, I would suppose this is yours, too?" The fox took the staff from the rabbit and handed it to Krystal.  
  
***  
  
"Whoa, hey!" Fox choked as the blue vixen tackled him to the ground with the sharp staff pointed as hit neck. Peppy drew his blaster.  
  
"Hey, no movements, or your buddy here gets it!" The vixen hissed. Peppy stopped.  
  
"What do you want?"  
  
"For you to get back on your ship and leave this planet immediately!"  
  
"I guess they don't like guests," Fox chuckled, apparently unconcerned that an animal was about to slice his throat. The vixen gave him a glare.  
  
"I like guests, but I hate looters."  
  
"What are you. Oh, that. We meant the fuel cells," Fox, without warning, grabbed the staff and tripped the vixen over. He put her in a gentle headlock and signaled Peppy to put away his gun.  
  
"Let me go, or else you'll regret it," the vixen growled. Fox clicked his tongue.  
  
"I don't want to hurt you, but you want to hurt us. Now, get it through your thick skull that we are not here to plunder people. We just want either hydrogen or methane fuel cells to get home," Fox handed her staff back and let her go, "Now do you trust us?"  
  
"A bit more," the vixen shrugged, "Your names and home planets, please."  
  
"Fox McCloud, Corneria."  
  
"Lieutenant Peppy Hare, Corneria."  
  
"Lieutenant? Impressive, but not very believable. I've never heard of Corneria," the blue fox crossed her arms.  
  
"Here," Peppy pointed at his jacket, where the symbols were, "Peppy Hare, Cornerian Army Reserve." The vixen nodded.  
  
"I'm Krystal."  
  
"So?" Fox grinned.  
  
"Queen Krystal," Krystal glared. Fox's smirk was wiped off in a millisecond. Peppy extended his hand and shook hers.  
  
"It's a pleasure to meet you," Peppy said. Fox rolled his eyes.  
  
"Yeah, naked, you mean," Fox whispered. Peppy elbowed him in the stomach. Krystal raised an eyebrow.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Oh, nothing. I was just pointing out how much natural beauty you have for a rich, snooty royal."  
  
"You can get hanged for that," Krystal fumed. Peppy also glared at Fox. Fox smirked again. He nodded his head in the direction of the bushes. Krystal looked hard.  
  
"KOHAN!"  
  
"Whoops. Retreat!" Kohan jumped out of the brush with two other fellow guards and ran off in the direction of the village. Fox double up in laughter.  
  
"Do you have a mental disability or something?" Krystal asked Fox. He shook his head.  
  
"No, I just think he was in there for the entire duration of you being naked."  
  
"So? That's no big deal. The people of Cerinia have nothing to hide, ever."  
  
"Well, Cerinia is pretty messed up," Fox muttered under his breath.  
  
"I swear, another word out of you."  
  
"It's bad to swear."  
  
"What is WRONG with you?"  
  
**  
  
"Mmm, tuna!" Fox impaled the fish with a fork and ate furiously. Krystal did the same with her salmon. Kohan scowled and the two, manner- less foxes.  
  
"Mashed carrots?" Peppy looked at the plate of orange goo, "Yum! Erm, can I have a straw?" A butler handed him a wooden reed. Peppy frowned but slurped anyway.  
  
"Uh, so tell, me, Lieutenant Hare, what's life like on your home planet?" Kohan cleared his throat, still scowling at Queen Krystal. Peppy gulped down his carrot slush and thought for a moment.  
  
"Um, we have boxes were we can receive messages. They're made of plastic, a synthetic material. We don't have much more except for the fact that we have lots of new technology. Life is strange; marriages don't really last long," Peppy shrugged and went on with his platter.  
  
"I was really expecting a life story, Mr. Hare."  
  
"Well, don't. I hate storytelling."  
  
"Mmm, good food," Fox said, waving a piece of tuna around. Krystal, who had taken to sit beside him, nodded.  
  
"Yeah. It's good to live near the sea when you're addicted to fish," Krystal chewed slowly, "Maybe I should show you around the royal kingdom."  
  
"Oh, we don't plan on staying that long," Fox shook his head politely. Krystal bared her teeth.  
  
"Do you dare disobey me?"  
  
"Uh, no, not really, since you control my fate now."  
  
"That's better."  
  
"Do you usually threaten visitors from another planet?"  
  
"You got lucky. If I didn't like you, you'd be hanging from a noose fifty feet high," Krystal smiled. Fox shuddered involuntarily. Krystal chuckled her musical laugh, "Not really. More like eight or nine feet, but still. Hey, what's in the bag?" Fox gulped down his food and picked up his pack, which was under his chair. He opened the zipper and took out the contents. Kohan watched, wide eyed, as Fox dropped the items one by one on the table carelessly.  
  
"Hmm, lets see. Emergency food packets, first aid kit, blaster gun, ammunition, grenades, a rope, and a spool of yarn for some reason," Fox picked up the last item and look over the table at Peppy, "I think your knitting supplies are in my pack."  
  
"Uh, I don't know what you're talking about," Peppy blushed.  
  
**  
  
"Wanna go for a dip?" Krystal asked. Fox nodded.  
  
The ocean was wide and clean, with small waves rippling the surface. The sun was right in the middle of the sky, and three dots were on the beach, chattering calmly: Krystal, in her tunic, Fox, in his jumpsuit, and Peppy, in his jumpsuit. Not much of a fashion group.  
  
"Er, on second thought, no," Fox said quickly as Krystal motioned to take off her tunic.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Well, aren't you embarrassed that two strangers are going to watch you strip down?"  
  
"A bit, yeah, but so?"  
  
"Ugh, seriously, you people have issues." Fox shook his head, "Don't you have some kind of swimsuit?"  
  
"Yeah, I do: My skin and fur."  
  
"Oh, never mind. I just go swimming in my underwear," Fox took off his vest and jumpsuit, revealing white boxers, which Peppy snickered at, and jumped into the water. Krystal shook her head, took off her tunic (Peppy stared at her back until she was in the water) and jumped in after him.  
  
Fox wasn't much of a strong swimmer, so he just floated around the surface. Krystal, however, was seen diving deep into the water and re- surfacing a few minutes later.  
  
"Here, eat this," Krystal handed Fox some black seaweed. Fox pretended to retch. While his mouth was open, Krystal forced the slime into his mouth and she squeezed his snout shut relentlessly until he swallowed it. Fox really retched this time.  
  
"Blah! If you weren't royalty I'd smack you in the face," Fox muttered. Krystal giggled and pulled him under the waves with such strength Fox was sure she worked out at least five hours a day, "Bloop?"  
  
"Relax, sound carries well in water, so speak, and that seaweed I made you eat is full of oxygen in condensed solid form. Just burp and you'll be able to breathe," Krystal smiled, her voice distorted, but audible.  
  
"Um, are you naked again?" Fox asked, his eyes shut, "What are we doing?" Fox burped.  
  
"We're going to kill a tuna fish!" Krystal smiled, swimming faster into the blackness of the ocean, "Open your eyes, fool. I don't think you'll be able to protect yourself when you can't see."  
  
"Erm, how big is this fish?" Fox asked, opening his eyes. Krystal took a look back at him as she touched down on the muddy ground under the sea. It was hard to walk, since the friction and the viscosity of the water didn't quite allow it, and the seaweed and the rocks provided impossible obstacles to get over.  
  
"Eh, about, say, a ton or two. I've been wanting to pole this guy for weeks now," Krystal said, raising her staff. Fox gulped, then burped again.  
  
Almost out of nowhere, a large, slivery fish with cold gray eyes, five times the size of Fox streamed out of the inky waters. Krystal sliced its stomach as it swam by, spurting blood and staining the salty ocean. Fox screamed and ran, stupid as it is, from the fish as it charged again, now aggravated. Krystal didn't seem concerned; she just impaled the fish in the eye and the fish itself flopped on its belly and floated to the surface slowly, the blood and fluid brain matter of fish making the dark sea more inky than it's supposed to be.  
  
"I feel the seaweed dissipating now, lets go up and get Kohan to bring the fish to shore," Krystal pulled on Fox's ear and led him up. Fox broke through the water sputtering.  
  
"Are you crazy? That thing could've eaten us!"  
  
"Mmm-hmm. What's fun without a challenge?" Krystal smiled, but she rolled her eyes as Fox fainted.  
  
**  
  
"Are you awake now?" Krystal chuckled, pinching Fox in the cheek.  
  
"Ow! You have strong fingers," Fox groaned and coughed as he got up from the bed. He saw himself in Krystal's room, "How long have I been asleep?" Krystal shrugged and sat down beside him.  
  
"About three days."  
  
"What? Are you serious? I've been in this bed for three days?"  
  
"Yeah," Krystal grinned deviously, "You talk and mumble in your sleep, you know."  
  
"What?" Fox swung his legs to the side of the bed and sat next to Krystal, "You visited me? How nice." Krystal frowned.  
  
"What are you talking about? I sleep in this room, too," Krystal grinned again, seeing the expression on Fox's face, "What? Is sleeping with a female illegal in your home planet?"  
  
"No, just abnormal."  
  
"Are you calling me abnormal?"  
  
"No. You can get so spoiled sometimes," Fox smirked.  
  
"I know, but I'm just having some fun with you," Krystal smirked, too, pinching Fox in the cheek again playfully before dragging him, literally, to the dining hall.  
  
**  
  
A/N: I think this is about to get bloodier than I was to think. I need some ideas for monsters that they might encounter on their journey to the other three parts of the kingdom. Eh, scratch that. Sorry that I'm not updating as soon as I'd like to, but the midterm exams are really stressing me out. 


	5. Here we are, here we go

Disclaimer: I don't own StarFox or the characters created by Nintendo. Understand me? Good.  
  
Introduction: I wrote this because if I continued on my other story, then things will get a lot less action-y. Everything is different, well, almost everything. Erm. History changed because some weird dude messed with a time machine. Yeah.  
  
  
  
"If there's nothing to see in the plains, then why are we going there?" Fox asked as he paddled across the river with Peppy manning the other oar. The canoe was short and narrow, with just enough space for the three of them. Peppy said that he was claustrophobic halfway across the river, how convenient.  
  
"Well, it's good exercise going through the plain and then the forest. Just for that smart comment, we're going to the mountains, too. Non- stop, that is," Krystal sat in front of Fox, pounding on a drum for them to keep up the rowing pace. Fox snorted, and Krystal pounded faster.  
  
"How long until the opposite bank?" Peppy gasped, tired. Just as he finished, the canoe bumped against the rocky shore of the southern plains, and Krystal climbed out, signaling the two foxes who were manning a second boat behind them to take that canoe back as well. Fox and Peppy stumbled to the shore. Peppy, groaning, wearily took one look at the sheer cliff before them, and puked.  
  
"Oh, no, no, no! We are NOT going any further," Fox stomped his foot on the rocks, his boot kicking a bit of sand and a small pebbled away, "You can't make us! Hell can't be worse than what you're doing to us, heck, I'll chance it."  
  
"Hey, you won't be going suicidal on me, understand? This staff can do a bit more than slice you apart," Krystal frowned, "Besides, the raw, natural gas deposits are in the mountains, but we have no use for exploding air. There's plenty for you, if you follow my instructions."  
  
"Damn you," Fox muttered, "Do you have any idea how we're going to climb this thing?" Krystal smiled evilly and took out a small, handheld scythe.  
  
"Pull your own fat rear up."  
  
**  
  
"Hey, I am not fat!" Fox groaned, having to climb half a mile's worth of vertical rock. He sat down on his cloth sleeping bag and warmed his feet by the fire.  
  
"I know you're not," Krystal shivered in the cold, night wind.  
  
"Wow, there's not a gym in Corneria that could match that workout," Peppy laid down on his sleeping bag, tossing his pack of supplies under his head, and started looking at the stars in the cloudless skies, "We started journeying at sunrise, and now it's the middle of the night. The two moons are really beautiful tonight."  
  
"Hmm? You notice these things?" Krystal asked.  
  
"Yeah," Peppy whispered his short answer before he started snoring softly.  
  
The plains were grassy, bushy lands with tall stalks of reeds and grass about waist-high, with the odd cluster of trees. Right now, Krystal's slave-army of two was situated beside the cliff, having a wonderful view of the flowing river and the village across it. Fox turned on his bottom and looked, sighing contently. Krystal, who was sitting beside him, edged closer to him and the fire, which was not much, but provided light and warmth nonetheless.  
  
"This is a good sightseeing spot, although not many foxes can climb the cliff. Most like to go around the cliff, into the forest and back west," Krystal murmured, softly enough to not wake Peppy. Fox nodded and peered at the twinkling fires that were the torches of the village below.  
  
"Hmm, lazy bums," Fox chuckled, his tail swishing idly, but dangerously close to the roaring flame, "Mmm, that's better." Krystal raised an eyebrow and did the same.  
  
"A bushy tail like mine catches on fire easily," Krystal smiled, "I got burned seven times before."  
  
"Then keep it away," Fox used his tail to hook onto hers and pulled the bright blue fuzz-stream away from the fire and closer to him. Fox then gave it a little tug with his gloved paw. Krystal scowled for a moment, then turned away, taking her tail along with her.  
  
"This brings back memories of my mother. She used to take me along on hikes like these," Krystal said quietly, her back turned to Fox.  
  
"You have green eyes," Fox commented suddenly. Krystal turned and looked into his.  
  
"You do, too. So what?"  
  
"Your mother had blue eyes. It was on the tapestry on the second floor of the palace," Fox chewed on a knuckled mindlessly, still gazing at the village.  
  
"My father had green eyes. He drowned hunting tuna, and I was there to see the fish bite onto his leg and pull him under," Krystal brushed a lock of her hair from her eyes and leaned on her paws, looking at the stars above.  
  
"I saw my own father get blown to bits from a grenade," Fox sighed, "I didn't even see my mother in the flesh. She died right after I was born."  
  
"Too bad," Krystal edged a bit closer to Fox, "At least I knew both my parents before they died."  
  
"Huh! Royalty: They can always point out a fact that they're better than commoners are," Fox grunted as threw a pebble and watched as it made ripples in the slow flowing tide of the river.  
  
"I can't tell you how much I hate you," Krystal scowled.  
  
"Then please don't," Fox said without even looking at her during the entire conversation. Krystal's scowl grew deeper as she threw back the covers of her sleeping bag and crawled in.  
  
"See you in the morning," Krystal said stiffly. Fox watched her silently for thirty minutes as she dozed off until he went into his own bag.  
  
--  
  
Mental journal, Fox McCloud, 2002 C.D., March 14, 5:39 AM:  
  
I really don't know what to think of this vixen. She's stubborn, arrogant, bossy, and mentally disturbed. I really think it comes from being spoiled as a kit, but that's just me and my 'ten-years-of-dealing-with- politics-and-their-car-problems' experience. It's always "Don't scratch the paint job" or "Hurry up, I've got a speech today".  
  
But somehow, this vixen is different. It seems like she's hiding something with me, but I just can't pinpoint the problem. There's something that my fox instincts are telling me, and I can't figure out that part either. I think I'll just stay away from her until she tells me what's wrong.  
  
Something that contrasts my bad thoughts about her is how she actually cares. I thought all politicians were just money laundering freaks, but now that I've met Krystal, I know that politics are generous, too. I saw, in my two days at the palace (excluding the part where I was in a coma and she slept with me without my knowing. Ugh, that's horrid, imagining that 'Queen' in the same bed as me. For all I know, she might bed doing, well, ya know, stuff to me. Sometimes, I think I'm too suspicious for my own good) that she actually listens to the people's problems. She cared, and she solved their problems. No "Sorry, but I really can't help" or "That's beyond my concern". She is interesting in her own way. For some reason, she isn't that stubborn, arrogant, bossy, and mentally disturbed with the citizens. Maybe she's just racist, I don't know.  
  
All I can say is that this isn't going to end will for me. Even if we reach the mountains, it almost means sixty kilometers of trudging through woodland. That will take at least three more days of walking. Then there's the possibility that we have to cross the mountains, which will take another day or so, then we will go back to our ship, which will take two more days. Six days, almost a week, we'll be stuck with this slave driver. There's a good chance either Peppy or me is gonna die on this mission. Yeah, I aced middle school math.  
  
Another thing that I want to hide from her is how I think of her looks. She looks SO beautiful; I can't stand such a mean soul residing in such a body. Seriously, if you, my imaginary memory friend, can see her, you'd agree. Uh, oh, it looks like she's stirring again. I really can't sleep, no matter how I try. I think it's the smoke or something.  
  
--  
  
"Ah-choo!" Peppy sniffed, jolting up from his bag, "The wind is really c-cold."  
  
"You should've slept closer to the fire," Krystal said, sitting up as well. Fox pretended to be asleep. It just might be fun to see what she does to him.  
  
"I'm hungry," Peppy declared, "Did you pack any food?"  
  
"Oh, quite the contrary: I took all the food out of your packs and gave it to the homeless people," Krystal shrugged. Peppy stared at her.  
  
"ARE YOU NUTS, VIXEN?" Fox shouted, tackling Krystal to the ground and choking her in the neck. Krystal whimpered and struggled, but Fox proved to be stronger than his body frame hinted. Peppy didn't do anything, as though he really wanted to strangle her, too.  
  
"S-stop it, Fox," Krystal gasped, tears in her eyes, "There's lots of game in the plains. Let go." Fox loosened his grip, but didn't release his vice.  
  
"You are a moronic fiend, seriously," Fox hissed. Krystal sobbed.  
  
"Y-you're really hurting me, F-Fox. Please let go," Krystal tried to pry his strong fingers away.  
  
"Why are you like this?" Fox demanded, "Do you have something against us?"  
  
"No, I'm just preparing you for the world ahead," Krystal managed to pull Fox off and nursed her neck. Fox stared at her.  
  
"There are worse things?"  
  
"More than you can imagine. Don't think I'm being mean on purpose. It's a dangerous world, Cerinia. You can get killed anytime," Krystal brushed away a tear from her emerald eyes and got her staff, "Are you hungry?"  
  
**  
  
"That was quick," Fox said, watching as Krystal roasted a very strange animal in the fire. It had no fur, no scales, just skin, much like a pig, but a lot dumber. Its snout was longer, and the skin was bright pink. It didn't even see Krystal as she advanced towards it.  
  
"I told you there was a lot of game," Krystal smiled. Peppy nearly threw up again.  
  
"I am NOT eating meat," he backed away from the strips of fat and meat that Krystal was broiling in the fire.  
  
"Suit yourself. I think there are berries over in the bushes, but there isn't enough for you. Maybe to settle your stomach until we get to the forest, but not enough," Krystal snapped a piece of ready meat from the fire and offered it to Fox. He took it and chewed quickly.  
  
"Sorry about almost killing you a few minutes ago. What's with that wood and grass?" Fox asked, taking another piece as Peppy grumbled off. Krystal took another piece of meat as well.  
  
"I think the grass has some kind of adrenaline stimulator in males. It makes them a bit more aggressive. I don't blame you, really, but it did hurt," Krystal and Fox took one last piece and Krystal tucked the rest, six more strips, into her pack. Fox felt his teeth with his tongue and thought for a moment.  
  
"What do you people do for oral hygiene? You've got great teeth."  
  
"Chew the grass. Sure it makes you hyper and dizzy, but it contains a lot of fluorine. Go ahead, and I'll tell you when you get too stupid," Krystal picked a strand from the ground and gave it to Fox. It was thin and green, and it tasted a lot like mint. Fox smiled at Krystal for the first time and heaved himself up to go to the forest.  
  
**  
  
A/N: Seriously, if you people don't review. I'm gonna change the genre and kick up some romance soon, so keep your pants on. For those of you. Oh never mind, read my story about the Ruby, Emerald, and Sapphire and you'll know what I'm gonna say. If I were you, I wouldn't expect another update for a while. I'm deadpan out of ideas here. 


	6. What goes on in your mind?

Disclaimer: I don't own StarFox or the characters created by Nintendo. Understand me? Good.  
  
Introduction: I wrote this because if I continued on my other story, then things will get a lot less action-y. Everything is different, well, almost everything. Erm. History changed because some weird dude messed with a time machine. Yeah.  
  
  
  
"Wow, this is a long hike," Fox panted, trudging through brush and grass. Krystal nodded in front.  
  
"Yeah, but don't worry, the shades of the trees yonder would make you a bit cooler. But I don't really think we'll reach the woods until tomorrow noon," Krystal said, snapping a string of grass and started chewing. Fox was chewing on the one from the morning, and it gave his mouth a strange, refreshed feeling.  
  
"Slow down!" Peppy called, a quarter of a mile behind. Fox took the wonderful excuse and sat down in a clearing of shorter grass. Krystal did likewise.  
  
"Dinnertime?" She asked, pulling out the bacon from the cooking this morning. Fox gratefully accepted and chewed on the hard piece of meat.  
  
"Is there anywhere I can cool off in?" Fox asked, pulling his sweaty jumpsuit from his fur. Krystal pointed at the river, which they have been following for a few miles. The going was easy, but non-stop thanks to the Queen. The cliff had grown gradually shorter, and now Fox was able to jump down the ledge and climb up with ease.  
  
"Yeah, and leave me with the fire building," Krystal called after him sarcastically. Peppy caught up a moment later and collapsed on the grass.  
  
"I need water," he rasped. Krystal rolled her eyes and pointed again at the river, where Fox was already swimming in his jumpsuit, washing the smelly sweat and dirt off of him. Peppy dived in after him. Krystal watched with interest at Fox and Peppy's game of splashing as she gathered dry reeds and branches nearby.  
  
--  
  
Mental journal, Queen Krystal, in the Month of Planting, 14th day, 67th year of the Fisher line, 7:23 PM:  
  
Those two are so playful, and so young. It really reminds me of the children who run around the streets in the village. They are immature, but really funny and great to be around, especially Fox. Despite his grumbling, I really like him.  
  
I don't remember, ever, knowing a dog as kind as him, although the grass can get him pretty mad. That stupid drug; at least it's not addictive. The only person I can think of that can match his personality was Tacker and his constant jokes. Fox is a lot more stubborn and immature, but still.  
  
There are lots of reasons why I should just abandon him on the plains and wait for the rogues to get him, one of them including how he always insults me and the royal line. He's just arrogant, and racist, for that matter.  
  
Peppy is caring and funny, but he's a bit inactive for a rabbit. Stories told by travelers who come to this planet is that rabbits and hares are very energetic. I personally think he's not getting enough to eat. I wouldn't like to leave him for the wild bandits and rogues; he's too nice.  
  
Sometimes I just wish Fox would grow up and be more responsible. He could've helped me get these logs right now, but would he? Nope, never. He's so unhelpful, if that's a word. And sometimes, I wish Fox would just stay as he is and stay here with me. I think I just might consider him for a husband. NO! I should court someone who is stronger and older, someone who knows about hunting. Fox doesn't know squat about that.  
  
Why is he coming over here? I think it's just best to scowl and discipline him a bit. We could be encountering bandits in the forest and mountains, after all.  
  
--  
  
"Hey, do you need a hand with the logs?" Fox asked, taking a bundle of sticks from Krystal's arms. Krystal looked really surprised.  
  
"Aren't you swimming?"  
  
"Yep, but don't I need a fire to dry off?" Fox smiled, taking out his blaster gun and shooting at the pile of wood that Krystal made, igniting it in a second. Sitting on the grass close to it, Fox started to steam the water off of his clothes. Peppy came a moment later and did the same.  
  
"You should take those off, just for the sake of drying," Krystal pointed out. Fox and Peppy blushed beneath their fur.  
  
"But, you're a female."  
  
"So? Fine, I won't look," Krystal turned on the spot and showed her back to Fox. Fox and Peppy reluctantly shook off their jumpsuits and hung them on a stick over the fire. Fox looked at Peppy's boxers.  
  
"Ha! And you think I have strange underwear," Fox chucked as Peppy tried to conceal his heart boxers. Krystal, upon hearing that, laughed as well, making the hide beneath Peppy's gray fur look crimson.  
  
"I'm hungry," Peppy declared, taking the attention from his legs.  
  
"Then go eat berries."  
  
"Aw, crud."  
  
**  
  
"Up again, Fox?" Krystal asked, sitting down beside him and pressed her shoulder against his for warmth.  
  
"Ugh, that darn smoke! I can't sleep," Fox rubbed his eyes and snorted. His breath caught in the cold air and became puffs of ice droplets. It was midnight again, cloudless and starry.  
  
"Then, next time, sleep away from the embers," Krystal's hair fluttered in the cold breeze and batted at Fox. He smiled a little as her locks tickled him in the cheek. Fox snapped a grass stem from outside the clearing without removing his shoulder from Krystal's and sucked.  
  
"I really feel like hurting something," Fox's paw grabbed a hold of Krystal's wrist and squeezed gently.  
  
"Is that the best you got?" Krystal challenged, wrenching her wrist away from Fox's grip and squeezed his paw. Fox smiled and squeezed back. Her strong fingers squeezed relentlessly until Krystal heard a crack in Fox's knuckle.  
  
"Yeesh, you're pretty mean for a queen," Fox said, wringing his paw to release the pain.  
  
"Was the rhyme intended?"  
  
"No, not really," Fox sighed as the coals of the fire blew out and the smoky smell faded, "Time to sleep. Thanks for your company."  
  
"Thanks for yours," Krystal rubbed her cheek against Fox in an affectionate manner and crawled into her sleeping bag. Fox smiled inwardly as he climbed into his.  
  
--  
  
Mental journal, Fox McCloud, 2002 C.D., March 15, 1:03 AM:  
  
Wow, Krystal has really changed in a couple of hours. She's a lot nicer now, not as bossy. Maybe choking people is a good way to make them smarten up. I can't believe she actually touched me, I mean, I thought that was illegal to do that to a queen. Maybe it's just a sign that she acknowledges who I am and she likes me as a personal friend. I should play it safe, so I shouldn't take anything the wrong way. She is royalty, and I respect that, even though I really don't show it well.  
  
Well, it's time to soften up, my friend, and be a bit nicer. She is my guide, and she isn't asking for a fee. I didn't go to survival camp in grade 6, so I think this is good experience. I can do a lot better to help her, and she could do a lot better in helping me. I'm actually starting to be attracted in her, how scary.  
  
--  
  
Mental journal, Queen Krystal, in the Month of Planting, 15th day, 67th year of the Fisher line, 1:03 AM:  
  
Well, maybe I'm wrong about Fox being lazy and such. He is really a good guy to be around, and I hope he didn't take the rubbing the wrong way. It was only a traditional way of expressing friendship.  
  
Fox and Peppy are my guests, so maybe I shouldn't have made them go on this trip without food. I can tell they are a lot more used to flying around in ships and such. I'll make it up to them, just maybe I can.  
  
Fox is beginning to be bearable in the past few hours, and probably even more bearable once I learn to stop using that grass in the fires. I really shouldn't feel that way about Fox until he learns the ways of the outdoors. I can't risk being bonded to a male that can't protect me. Maybe I'll teach him, and then I'll think about courtship.  
  
He's snoring. Oh, wait that's Peppy. Fox's silent when he sleeps, and that gives him a peaceful air. He does look handsome for an outlander, and he is in a good shape; he kept up with me the entire way up the cliff, while Peppy was slow by a few hours. Oh, I can't stop feeling that way about him. I know I should stop, but I really can't. I've never been in love before. Yeah, poor me. Oh look at that; I'm thinking about Tacker again. Aaargh! Why do I always shed these useless tears when I think of my empty love life?  
  
--  
  
"Krystal?" Fox asked. Krystal turned her head towards him, seeing his shiny green eyes looking intently upon her beneath the double moons. It was a romantic setting, but neither of them wanted to admit that.  
  
"Yeah? What's the matter?" Krystal asked softly, her voice sincere and very pleasant, which struck Fox as very strange. Her emerald orbs gazing at him with respect. Her eyes were shimmering, as if she had been crying.  
  
"I just wanted to ask how long until we reach the mountains," Fox said.  
  
"Oh, just a few more days. About five, if we keep the pace we're going," Krystal answered, turning away from Fox and pretended to sleep. Fox thought he had heard a bit of disappointment in her tone.  
  
**  
  
A/N: Oh, I'm getting SO cheesy. Ah, what the heck, this is going well for me. I thought of the plot already, so hurrah! For those of you who really want an extremely romantic scene, you just might be disappointed, but keep reading, in case I change my mind. Blood will come, I promise you. 


	7. Rogues and ale

Disclaimer: I don't own StarFox or the characters created by Nintendo. Understand me? Good.  
  
Introduction: I wrote this because if I continued on my other story, then things will get a lot less action-y. Everything is different, well, almost everything. Erm. History changed because some weird dude messed with a time machine. Yeah.  
  
  
  
Krystal, Fox, and Peppy had gotten into the forest sooner than they had expected, still following the river as a guide. By high sun, they had already reached the springs where they had first met.  
  
"You stole my tunic. A normal commoner would've gotten hanged, or worse, tortured to death," Krystal stroked her tail and getting the tangles out as they sat by the edge of the water, chewing berries and a fish Fox caught in the pond.  
  
"Ha! Aren't you the kingdom brat," Fox snickered. Krystal scooped up some water and flung it at Fox. He didn't seem to mind, except for the fact that he shoved her into the water after.  
  
"Hey!" Krystal glared at Fox in a humorous fashion and climbed up the bank again, "Well, I think its time to move."  
  
"Indeed it is," a blue fox behind them sneered. Using the butt end of his spear, he quickly knocked the living daylights of the three companions.  
  
**  
  
Fox woke up to find him and his two friends in a cage led by two foxes with tattered robes and tunics. One of them had an ear ripped off and the other was missing a finger from a paw. These were probably rogues. The cage itself was made with hard wood and straw and it was unbelievably cramped with only three animals inside.  
  
Tasting his snout, Fox licked off dried blood. There was also a sharp pain in the back of his head. Krystal had a swell on her forehead, unconscious, and Peppy was already up, nursing a bump between his ears. He gave a weary look at Fox.  
  
"I don't think we're gonna be dinner guests," he whispered. Fox nodded in agreement and shook up Krystal. She woke screaming.  
  
"YOU! Let me out! Don't you know who I am?" She pounded on the cage bars and rattling the cart around. The foxes snickered stupidly and ignored her. Picking up a small pebble in the cage, Krystal flung it at the one with the tattered ear. He turned around and poked Krystal with his spear.  
  
"Yeah, yeah, we know who you are, your highness," he said, his tone dripping with sarcasm, "Don't expect us to obey your royal commands."  
  
Fox shook his head as Krystal tried to pry a branch off a tree near the rocky road they were on. Krystal scowled and growled. By the looks of the sun and the time, they were going further east, far away from their destination.  
  
Fox groaned and felt his pockets. His pack was gone; a fox in front had it along with Peppy and Krystal's packs. His blaster was gone, too, but a small knife was still in the end of his boot that he kept for emergencies. Deciding to save it for later, Fox gnawed away at the bars, hoping that they were weaker than they looked. They weren't.  
  
"Where are you taking us?" Peppy asked politely. The foxes turned, but didn't stop. They snickered again.  
  
"To our slave camp, you dolt! We have plans for you males, but as for the Queen, we have more ambitious plans. But maybe a little fun first wouldn't hurt."  
  
"You sick pig," Krystal barked, throwing another pebble at the foxes. This one missed, but the one with the tattered ear poked her again anyway.  
  
**  
  
"Where do you think this camp is, anyway?" Fox asked. Nighttime had fallen again, and the two rogues were asleep under a tree nearby.  
  
"Northeast, by the looks of it. Now I know what happened to those disappearances lately," Krystal sighed. Instead of the cheerful, moon- filled nights before, this one was cloudy and wet, with rain pouring down in on the cart and splashing onto the three poor prisoners.  
  
Peppy was asleep uncomfortably, by the looks of it, and wasn't snoring for once. Fox felt restless, and so did Krystal. She was chewing unhappily on a branch she found on the side of the road and was trying to fashion it into a spear. Fox was hacking hopelessly on a bar with a sharp rock. He had managed to break through a few fibers, but the cage was fire- hardened.  
  
"It must be hard to be a queen," Fox looked up suddenly. Krystal hesitated in biting her stick for a moment.  
  
"What makes you think that?"  
  
"So much depends on you. I'd bet that the village will be panicking like fish by the time they find out that you were missing," Fox said as he licked his dry lips.  
  
"Probably. They'll send a search party after us in a matter of days, but I don't expect that we'll still be around here by then," Krystal gave up on her stick and huddled her knees to her chest for warmth.  
  
"That doesn't sound good," Fox mumbled.  
  
"Of course it doesn't sound good," Krystal rolled her eyes, "What sounds good for you?"  
  
"A warm and dry place to sleep and a companion on my journeys," Fox shrugged simply. Krystal shook her head.  
  
"That's not as easy as it seems, to get those comforts. There is an outlander in the far north. He crashed on this planet a few years ago. Now, he can't protect himself and he doesn't have any money. That poor dog has been stuck here since," Krystal cupped her paws outside the cart and caught a few drops of rain to drink. They both shivered and sniffed.  
  
"I wish this weather would let up, but these kinds of clouds don't like to let up for days," Fox peered up into the sky. Krystal nudged herself to the corner of the cart to where Fox was sitting.  
  
"You actually pay attention to the weather?" Krystal asked, pressing her shoulder to Fox as she had done the other night.  
  
"Hmm, yeah. I should've been a meteorologist or something," Fox sighed, his breath catching in the cold wind and turning it into clouds. Krystal raised an eyebrow.  
  
"What's that?"  
  
"A meteorologist is someone who studies meteorology, or commonly known as the study of natural weather," Fox recited. Krystal smiled at him, but Fox wasn't looking; he was staring at the clouds.  
  
Krystal felt her eyelids grow heavy as she pressed her head against Fox's chest for more warmth and fell asleep. Fox stroked her hair and tried to remember a happy memory in his life.  
  
**  
  
"Wake up, sleepyhead," Fox cooed at Krystal, hoping to annoy her. She let out a 'hmm' and sat up, feeling the bumping of the cart as it rolled along the rocky forest road. Peppy was asleep again, but he woke up at dawn to snicker at Fox for a moment before he said he needed another nap.  
  
"Hi," she said sleepily as she glanced at her surroundings again. Fox now had gnawed nearly a quarter of the way through one of the cage bars. The forest seemed to grow tidier as they headed north and east, farther into the mainland.  
  
Krystal and Fox were both dead hungry and thirsty. The rain hadn't let up; it was still drizzling just not enough water to catch and drink. They hadn't eaten since noon yesterday and Krystal was getting anxious about what was going to happen to her. Fox didn't seem to be worried, though.  
  
"Hey, you two. Don't you need a rest or something? You've been at it for three hours straight. I think it's lunchtime," Fox called. The two foxes stopped and glanced up at the sky where the faintest bit of sun was visible through thick cloud. Both shrugging, they dropped the cart and hopped off the road into the shade from the rain to collect food and those stupid pigs.  
  
"Why'd you do that?" Krystal asked, snuggling up to Fox again for heat.  
  
"I saw them pig out this morning on two pigs. Pun not intended, by the way. This way, I'm hoping that they have enough left over for us from their big stomachs," Fox felt his abdomen. In just a day, he had lost weight. Krystal looked a lot better. At least she was getting her sleep; Fox didn't bother hitting the hay.  
  
A little while later, the two foxes returned with a pig each in their greedy paws. Quickly making a fire (they didn't figure out the blaster method yet) they started to roast the two animals in large bacon strips. Fox's mouth watered at the aroma.  
  
"Wow, how'd ya hunt both of them? You two must be champion hunters, then," Fox smiled, hoping to worm some food for Peppy and Krystal. They both snickered stupidly and said thanks. After a few minutes, they roasted both the pigs and the livers. Eating the livers first, they quickly found themselves full. After arguing for a moment more, they gave the rest of the meat (a lot) to Fox.  
  
"See?" Fox whispered to Krystal as they started munching happily. Peppy woke up in a few minutes and shared their food. They didn't tell him that it was meat, just for his own good.  
  
--  
  
Mental journal, Queen Krystal, in the Month of Planting, 16th day, 67th year of the Fisher line, 2:12 PM:  
  
Maybe I was wrong about Fox again. Maybe he could provide for me and watch out for me. All I really care about now is getting out of this mess and getting back on the road. We won't be expecting to get to the mountains by the 20th now.  
  
I hope these jerks of foxes don't do anything bad to us. Rogues are merely commoners who have done nothing wrong to us except follow the wrong leaders. They were misled by older blood-bathers, and now they are turning against the political center. I'm telling Fox this now. I hope he doesn't do anything stupid to get us out.  
  
Rogues aren't usually violent. Most of them, except for the leaders, are just citizens who want a change in law. The leaders kill for fun and capture other people, saying that they are traitors to the good of Cerinia. The leaders are demented, not their followers.  
  
I can see Fox's knowing eyes. He sees my point of view, and he respects it. He nods now in agreement of what I just told him. He's very smart, even though foxes are supposed to be smart. He knows a lot more than I do, although he is too modest to admit that. He's tough, but sensitive at the same time. Fox would do anything for someone that he cares about, and I know that. He knows too, but he won't ever acknowledge that. He's a warrior and a fighter at heart. Kindness and love are weaknesses, and he knows that. Fox knows a lot more than what meets the eye when you see him. He does.  
  
--  
  
The rogue camp didn't look exactly like a rogue camp. It wasn't what someone would usually expect from lawbreakers. The camp was neat and tidy, fortified with logs and heavy wooden gates. The tents were made out of clean, white canvas, and they were very professionally made. The air around the camp was happy and cheerful. It was also odorless, for that matter.  
  
"I'm not sure that these foxes are rogues," Peppy said, jovially dancing to a fiddle tune with several of the rogues. They had quite taken to the hare's jokes and miming, and they accepted him as an equal, not a prisoner. But that was different for Krystal; she was stuck in a cage while she watched miserably as Fox and Peppy helped themselves to ale and occasionally slipping her a piece or two of meat and bread.  
  
"Aha! How dare ye scoundrel call us rogues!" A cubby faced fox, Erik, said sarcastically. His companions and Peppy laughed, "Oh, ha! Ya want more ale, Peppy?"  
  
"Oh, no more, no more!" Peppy leaned on a table to keep himself standing; he danced a bit too fast, "Another tankard and you'll see me and my fat belly rolling down the hillside filled with liquid."  
  
"Ya know, Peppy, I hate this life. I want to be back in the village where my family is. Curse that Queen and her soldiers; I was forced into exile for rallying for lower taxes, can you imagine that?" Erik took another tankard from a fox and drank slowly.  
  
"Did she really exile you?"  
  
"Well, no, I guess. I think I was more embarrassed to go back home, since I was publicly humiliated. Get me out of here, Peppy. We all regret joining this rogue camp. Kill that bastard barbarian, Lain, and lets go home," Erik patted Peppy on the shoulder, "He's too strong for us. He locks up our weapons and takes more than three-quarters of our hunt! We're being ten times more oppressed than back in the royal kingdom!"  
  
"We can't. We don't have our guns. I promise you, Erik, we'll get out, all of us, just have faith and give us some time," Peppy nodded to Fox, "We're busting out."  
  
**  
  
A/N: No blood? Well, WAIT! That is all for now, bye-bye. 


	8. Tricksters deserve tricksters

Disclaimer: I don't own StarFox or the characters created by Nintendo. Understand me? Good.  
  
Introduction: I wrote this because if I continued on my other story, then things will get a lot less action-y. Everything is different, well, almost everything. Erm. History changed because some weird dude messed with a time machine. Yeah. Now, the start of this chapter is a flashback from Krystal's memory, so don't get confused.  
  
  
  
"Huh?" Krystal squinted hard at the runes scribbled on the yellow parchment, "Um, scorpion, bite, worm?"  
  
"Ugh, NO!" Kohan whacked his head on the table. The candles shuddered from the vibrations; "It's scorpion, bite, fox! Seriously, Princess Krystal, if you don't learn to read and write properly-"  
  
"Then I won't be a good ruler, I know, I know. Geez, Kohan, if you hate this job so much, then why don't you just stop being a scholar and get back to your Prime Minister thingy job?" Krystal, the ten-year-old kit asked innocently. Kohan whacked his head on the oak table again. Tacker had to squeeze his snout to keep laughing.  
  
"It's my royal duty, princess. I'm twenty-eight, Krystal, and when you take over the throne at age eighteen, or sooner if your mother dies, I'll be thirty-five. By then, I will have been elected over."  
  
"So?" Krystal asked. Tacker, who was supposed to be nearby if Krystal needed anything, raced out of her room and into the hall. A second later, booming laughter echoed off the stone corridor. Kohan scowled.  
  
"Well, that's not a prime age, Krystal. I'm the best teacher and general around here, and by forty, I won't be able to fight and I will just be stuck around the library, and you know how I hate that. The doctor says I'll be crazy if I spend any more time indoors than outdoors. That means I will have only two years if I decide to teach you late to make you understand the concepts of political organization!" Kohan rubbed his temple with a paw. Krystal nodded slowly.  
  
"Right. And if you didn't have this job, you'd be a dead fox," Krystal said. Kohan sighed and Krystal furrowed her brow, "I still don't get it. You speak in riddles, old man."  
  
"I do not!" Kohan glowered. Krystal giggled.  
  
"All that time fighting rogues has rotted your brain, Kohan!"  
  
"I don't fight rogues, Krystal, and neither do they fight us. They don't want to fight; it's their leaders who want to fight. Get that through your head, Krystal, and maybe you'll actually get the hang of ruling," Kohan sighed. Krystal thought for a moment, then shrugged.  
  
"Okay."  
  
**  
  
Krystal didn't know what Kohan was talking about that day until now. She finally understood, after what Peppy and Fox said about the rogues wanting to escape, that the rogues were no worse than common people that she met on the streets of the village were.  
  
"Be careful," Krystal whispered to Fox, "Your plan has so many flaws."  
  
"I know," Fox whispered back, "That bar, you see? If something goes wrong, it's weak enough for you to break, so get out if you hear that I'm dead, okay?" Krystal grabbed him by the neck of his jumpsuit and glared at him.  
  
"You are not going to die, you hear? I won't let you," she said, gazing hard into Fox's eyes. He smiled at her, and Krystal smiled softly back, "That guy looks tough. Challenging him to a duel could cost you your life. Come back in one piece, Fox."  
  
"Will do, your highness," Fox rubbed his cheek against hers through the cage bars and went off, with every rogue in the camp looking nervously at him.  
  
**  
  
"Hey, you, Lain! Ya think you are tough, huh? I bet a little baby kit can send you crying!" Fox ripped back the tent flaps of Lain's little hut and threw a rock at the large fox's face. He growled, his thousand scars seeming to bristle in anger.  
  
Lain was actually as tough as he looked, but only half as smart. He was well built probably twice the height of Fox with a thick winter tunic and heavy boots. His ears were both tattered and he wore rings on both of his hands. He stomped his foot from his large chair.  
  
The tent was just like any other tent in the camp, just five times bigger. A large trunk locked away all of the weapons of the rogues, and his huge bed, desk, and chair decorated the filthy place.  
  
"What the hell is wrong with you, runt?" Lain quickly advanced towards Fox, who remained unflinching, "You're asking for your own death." Striking out with a massive fist, Lain struck Fox below the chin and sent him hurtling a few feet away.  
  
"Is that the best you got?" Fox sneered, swallowing his blood, "I bet I can kick your butt any day with a sword. Come on, fight like a dog!" Lain growled and kicked open the trunk. Taking out a large broadsword for himself and tossing a short sword to Fox, they marched outside.  
  
"Fox," Peppy hissed, "What are you doing? I thought you would ask for your blaster back!" Fox shook his head while a ring of bystanders grouped around nervously to watch Fox and Lain. They would help if Fox got in trouble, but that would be after Lain kills him.  
  
Yelling loudly, Lain charged at Fox and swung madly. Fox barely dodged all his swings, and Fox managed to nick a cut in Lain's chest while he was doing an upward thrust. The group around them remained silent as a trickle of blood went down Lain's chest.  
  
Outraged now, Lain leapt at Fox and chopped even more madly. Fox tried to use his sword to block Lain's blows, but he found dodging much quicker. Since Lain was as dumb as a post, he didn't detect any pattern in Fox's movements.  
  
"Come on!" Erik suddenly shouted. Someone else followed suit, shouting out Fox's name and cheering him on. Lain stared at his followers in shock. Fox took advantage of that and slashed a deep gash in his stomach. Lain howled in pain, but kept fighting.  
  
The battle lasted for ten minutes before another vital cut was made. Fox had gotten unlucky and accidentally dodged too slow. Lain managed to slice a shallow cut in his wrist, making blood splatter out and onto the ground. Fox felt his energy leave him and his mind go dizzy as he fought.  
  
"Not so tough now, are ya, runt?" Lain snickered. Fox gasped for breath as Lain clashed his sword against his and making sparks fly. Fox's blood was now staining his jumpsuit scarlet and black, his vital fluid staining the grass and dirt around them. His fur was tainted with the red liquid and the blood was still flowing out freely. Lain's cut was just as bad, with most of his tunic splattered with his and Fox's blood.  
  
"No," Krystal whispered to herself as Fox was thrown to the ground with such force that it collapsed the tent he landed on. Groaning, Fox tried to get up and retrieve his sword, but Lain stepped on his paw.  
  
"Oh, no you don't," Fox kicked Lain's stomach wound and sent his sword flying away as well. Fox dug his foot deep into Lain's cut and he screamed. Suddenly, Lain pulled out a dagger from under his tunic that Fox didn't see. People who play dirty deserve other people who play dirty. With a quick movement, Fox snatched his knife from the boot that was still digging into Lain's abdomen and shoved it into his neck before Lain could shove his dagger into his.  
  
Gurgling, Lain spat streams of blood onto Fox's face before he fell limp on the ground. It took a moment for the rogues to realize their freedom and cheer loudly. Fox didn't have time to celebrate with them; he fainted a second after his adversary died.  
  
**  
  
"Get up, Fox. I know you're awake," Krystal's voice called. Fox tried to open his eyes, but the bright sunlight from the open tent flap made him close them again.  
  
"Is this heaven? Is that an angel speaking to poor old me?" Fox humored. He felt his wrist. Someone had patched it up and it wasn't bleeding now.  
  
"No, this isn't heaven, but this is an angel talking," Krystal bent down and rubbed her cheek against Fox's, "You've been asleep for two days now."  
  
"Aw, crap," Fox sat up, feeling a loss of feeling in his limbs, and tried to walk around the tent. Krystal watched, amused, as he tumbled down again and again.  
  
"I think we can reach the gas mines in three days, if we don't encounter any more trouble. We seemed to have headed more northward than I imagined," Krystal said as she followed Fox around the large tent. There weren't any other injured foxes around, so Fox got bored and opened his eyes.  
  
"Shouldn't we be going?" Fox asked, stepping out of the hospital tent and into the fresh air. Krystal laughed and hugged Fox from behind. Fox blushed as he felt his weakened knees buckle from her weight, "What's that for?"  
  
"A few hours after you won, your heart stopped beating," Krystal let go of Fox and handed him a piece of pig meat, "I thought I lost you." Fox gulped down the strip awkwardly.  
  
"I didn't think you'd care," Fox joked as he was welcomed back to consciousness by all the un-rogue-d rogues. Most of them were planning to go home or just stay at the camp and live life as hunters and farmers. They gave Fox gifts, like salted pork and foods, but Erik handed Fox a long sword and a pretty scabbard to go along with it.  
  
"Just in case. If you're going into the mountains, God knows what you're gonna see there," Erik said, smiling, but Fox knew he meant it. This planet wasn't nice, and it wants to make that obvious.  
  
**  
  
"I think you look dashing with a blade at your hip," Peppy said, chuckling. Fox unsheathed the sword and waved it around. Krystal laughed as he did lunges and thrusts.  
  
"Where'd you learn all that?" Krystal asked. Peppy turned to Fox to hear his answer as well, with his own little dagger hanging with a small piece of leather at his belt.  
  
It was suppertime once again for our heroes, and hungry they were. Since morning they had traveled, and they were dead tired. The sun was setting over the forest and the mountains yonder, casting an orange and purple array of colors up into the clouds. Fox stuck his sword back into its scabbard and sat near the roaring fire. They planned to just stay in clearings as long as it wasn't raining. Fox liked this because he could see the stars and the moons. He felt very stupid to feel that way.  
  
"I really don't know," Fox took out his canteen and took a swig of rainwater, "Peppy? Maybe you would know."  
  
"No, I wouldn't," Peppy shook his head, "Maybe it was in your blood. Your father and grandfather both loved sword fights, but I don't know why."  
  
Fox shrugged at Krystal and watched one of the moons rise up from the eastern horizon to meet its brother in the now bluish-black sky. The stars appeared one by one in the distance, and they twinkled happily. It wasn't long before Peppy was snoring. Fox didn't feel like sleeping, but he didn't think it was the grass drug, though.  
  
"I hate being an engineer," Fox said suddenly. Krystal looked up at him, starting to shiver because of her fine coat of fur and the freezing breeze that picks up every night.  
  
"Then why aren't you something else?" Krystal asked.  
  
"I don't know how do something else that pays good," Fox sighed, leaning towards the fire a bit. Krystal leaned against him in turn.  
  
"Is that all you care about? Money?" Krystal rested her head on Fox's shoulder as she felt herself yawn.  
  
"I care about other things, too," Fox whispered, barely audible as Krystal drifted into the dream world, a small smile planted on her delicate face.  
  
**  
  
A/N: It's coming along. I don't feel very descriptive today. I don't know what they'll encounter when the reach the edge of the forest. I think trolls will do, but give me an idea or two, 'k? I would like to thank everyone who is actually reading; this is almost over. 


	9. Mountain troll?

Disclaimer: I don't own StarFox or the characters created by Nintendo. Understand me? Good.  
  
Introduction: I wrote this because if I continued on my other story, then things will get a lot less action-y. Everything is different, well, almost everything. Erm. History changed because some weird dude messed with a time machine.  
  
  
  
"Oh, Fox, you dolt, why did you let me fall asleep in your tender arms?" Krystal asked while winking at Fox. Peppy didn't catch the wink, but he snorted and snickered into his berries anyway.  
  
"Hmm, I guess I couldn't resist the touch of your silken fur against my longing paws," Fox replied, trying extremely hard not to lose his straight face. Peppy howled with laughter, rolling around on the ground, spluttering his breakfast everywhere.  
  
The fellowship wanted to stay for a bit and eat, but Peppy was obviously having a hard time swallowing. The weather was fair and warm, with a gentle breeze to cool off from the blazing sunlight. Fox stayed up all night stroking Krystal, but he wasn't about to admit that. She'd probably notice later how well groomed her hair had gotten. Fox, instead of feeling tired and beat from lack of sleep, felt a strange happiness instead. Maybe he had gotten a little high on those strange coconuts a fox left him.  
  
They set off a few minutes later, trudging through what is now still tree-full, but more rocky and steeper ground. They were heading into the mountain range, all right. By noon, they had reached the top of the rocky hill and were looking west, since they had already gotten north enough. This is where the mountain ranged ended eastward. The range extended in an L shape, west over the north of the royal kingdom, then north to where the old Duke lived and governed. Compared to the other provinces, the royal kingdom was the richest, but also the tiniest.  
  
Cerinia only had one big continent, four provinces and the royal province. One province was to the north: The Duke's, one was to the east and the biggest, one was to the southeast, and one was to the south, the most plentiful in fruit. The royal kingdom was stuck in between the four and walled against the ocean. Only a twentieth of what the northern province was (smallest of the four provinces), the royal kingdom had the least farmers, just miners and merchants.  
  
"It's getting colder here now, isn't it?" Peppy said as he sniffed the air, "I don't fancy mountain climbing in what I have on."  
  
"Even less for the Queen here," Fox tugged on Krystal's thin tunic. She smiled and took out a heavy cloak from her pack and slipped it on.  
  
"I'm always prepared," Krystal said as she dragged Fox and Peppy off into the mountains.  
  
--  
  
Mental journal, Fox McCloud, 2002 C.D., March 20, 9:46 AM:  
  
I wonder why she said that. Maybe, just maybe, she likes me? I'd better not push my luck, because if I anger her, I'm positive a noose will be around my neck in an instant, friend or not.  
  
I really have to fight back my urges until me and Peppy set off back to Corneria, but I'll definitely miss her. She was the best friend I had, excluding poor Bill Grey. I sometimes think that train driver ran him over on purpose. I like what my old teacher used to say, though it brings me so many bad memories: "Just because they have a license to drive or pilot, that doesn't mean they have the urge to kill." Which brings us back to my urges.  
  
I really like her. She's gotten a lot more caring and friendly since we first met, and I still can't help but stare at her every time she comes near me. I had never been in love before, but I'm pretty sure this is it, and I hate it. It will pain me so much when I leave. I'll probably never get the chance to come here again, mainly because I have no idea which freaking galaxy we are in now.  
  
She hugs me close and sleeps in my arms, but maybe that just means friendship, or it's because she wants to get warm. Every time she touches me, I get this uncomfortable feeling in the pit of my stomach, but it isn't bad. I really like it when she talks to me; her voice is like music in my overly large, pointy ears. Her fur is like silk, really, and her touch is delicate and soft. How did she get to be a warrior, anyway? And most of all, how did I get to be a warrior, and since when? Well, I can fly my Arwing pretty well, but I don't get much practice nowadays. Maybe I should take up flying lessons when I get home.  
  
Krystal can't come with me, that is for sure. She needs to be here, on Cerinia, guiding the people and making laws. That Kohan guy seems to know a bit more about politics and war than he does citizens.  
  
Maybe I can stay, but Peppy sure won't. Being a lieutenant in the Reserve Army sure expects a lot of you, especially for you to come to work every day and train a few classes of pilots. If I stay, Peppy can't find his way back, and I can't go home, either. If I leave Corneria, it means leaving my dead parents behind, too, and I don't want that. I regret building that stupid warp drive now.  
  
I wish there were something that I could do to stay with Krystal. Something, I really don't care what. At least, when I die and she dies, we can see each other in heaven, but killing those Venomian soldiers probably guaranteed my stay in hell. Oh, well, at least time is a healer. Maybe I'll get over her. Just maybe.  
  
--  
  
"What horrors await us in the mountains?" Fox asked curiously. Krystal stopped chewing on her meat for a second.  
  
"Um, let me think. Cannibals, harsh weather, unexpected earthquakes and eruptions, and trolls," Krystal shrugged and warmed her feet by the fire. Under the starlight, Fox thought she looked even more beautiful.  
  
"What trolls?" Fox asked. Peppy chattered his teeth, but Fox was sure that it wasn't from the cold.  
  
"The big furry things who are really dumb and wield clubs," Krystal said matter-of-fact-ly, "We don't usually have much trouble with them, but they can get pretty hungry in the spring." Peppy chattered louder.  
  
"Is that bad?" Fox asked, still unconcerned about Peppy huddling close to him and looking around suspiciously.  
  
"Yep, if you consider being eaten alive and having the skin peeled off of you while your heart is still beating," Krystal gave Peppy a strange look and he cleared his throat and climbed into his bag, still chattering, "But we're not high enough in the mountains yet. Hopefully we'll last at least four hours in the mountains, because that's how long until we reach the gas mines. Do you see the lights over there? That's the village."  
  
Peppy seemed to get a bit more relaxed at that, and started snoring soon after. Fox felt restless again, so he slipped out while Krystal was staring at the stars. She did seem very interested in them.  
  
Hacking away at the dry bushes and grass with his sword, Fox went and skewered two pigs in less than two hours. Fox was beginning to wonder how they lasted in the plains and the forest. He wasn't hungry, but something in his bored, vulpine mind and his natural killer instincts told him to make blood appear on something.  
  
When Fox made his way back to the camp, he noticed that Krystal had gone somewhere, probably nature calling. Fox fried the pigs for later use and waited for Krystal. After an hour, Fox started to get worried.  
  
"Krystal?" Fox called, trudging through the grass, following the parting in the stalks that signaled a creature going past, "Krystal!"  
  
"GAH!" Something big and furry jumped onto Fox and pinned him down. Fox panicked, as he couldn't reach his sword or blaster. The troll started gnawing on Fox's arm, and Fox yelped in fright.  
  
"Get off, you fiend!" Fox tried to roll over, but the troll was too big.  
  
"Ah, fiend? How dare you call me a fiend!" The troll said in a familiar tone. Fox gave out a sigh of relief.  
  
"Where'd you get the suit, Krystal?" Fox asked, getting a better look at the 'troll'.  
  
"The cloak was made of pig fur, in case you didn't notice," Krystal laughed, still on top of Fox, "And you know I was lying about the entire earthquake and troll part."  
  
"Well, how'd you get so heavy?"  
  
"Oh, firewood," Krystal shook herself and the cloak and several fat logs fell out and onto the ground, "I got ya, didn't I?" Fox smirked and quickly rolled, flipping Krystal over and landing on top of her.  
  
"And I got you," Fox chuckled as he bit softly on Krystal's shoulder through the heavy cloak. She laughed and fought against him. They played for a while before both of them lay on the ground, beat and tired.  
  
"Do you think it's sunrise already?" Krystal asked, sitting up and looking at the horizon. A bit of pink and yellow peeked from the mountains and the sun soon shined on both of them, covering the two foxes in warmth.  
  
"I think Peppy's gonna want his breakfast," Fox smiled, helping Krystal from the ground and setting off toward camp.  
  
**  
  
"Caves, rocks, a little bit of grass, more rocks. This isn't exactly a tourist spot, is it?" Peppy panted as he used his front paws and crawled up the tall mountain, their last difficulty before they reached the mines, "I would suppose the view from the top would be a lot better, but who would want to climb this thing?"  
  
"The brave and the strong," Krystal called down at him, "I can see that you're neither!"  
  
"Quiet, you," Peppy muttered. Fox laughed and heaved himself up onto a ledge.  
  
The mountain was nearly a mile of rock at a 90-degree angle, making it hard to climb, but at least there were plenty of ledges. Caves dotted the mountainside here and there, but they all led down back to the ground. The mountain wasn't exactly smooth, so it was easier to climb than the other mountains, which were just one, smooth rock that you can slip on. A little bit of grass here, and a little tree there, and you have a typical mountain and its range. The rest of the mountains were a bit easier to climb, considering the valleys are high and they were a bit even-er.  
  
"Ugh! Lunchtime?" Peppy sighed as he was pulled up onto the large over-cropping of rock by the two foxes. Krystal nodded and took out some meat.  
  
"You're not getting any, though. If you want a vegetarian diet, go down the mountain and eat berries," Fox pointed down the mountain, which they were four fifths of the way up.  
  
"You are sadistic, really. You need to go to boot camp, Fox, when we get back," Peppy shook his head. Fox froze in eating his meat in remembering his predicament. The morning's tumble playing had taken his mind off of it entirely.  
  
"One way or the other, I'm not going to boot camp, seriously," Fox said quietly.  
  
**  
  
A/N: Aw, crap. Now the action part isn't coming along well. Ah, who cares? Um, wait: don't answer that. One more chapter to go, I think, and then, I'm outta here and I'm gonna play my new StarFox Adventures game, or at least I think that's what my parents got me for Christmas... 


	10. The last time

Disclaimer: I don't own StarFox or the characters created by Nintendo. Understand me? Good.  
  
Introduction: I wrote this because if I continued on my other story, then things will get a lot less action-y. Everything is different, well, almost everything. Erm. History changed because some weird dude messed with a time machine.  
  
  
  
"Ah, here, hydrogen 607, very concentrated," the dealer handed Fox a large tank that weighed almost nothing, "Careful with that, lad, or else you'll find yerself blasted to the gates of heaven, har."  
  
"Thanks," Fox shoved the tank into his pack and waved goodbye to the dealer and made his way out the door and into the snowy mountaintop with Krystal and Peppy behind him.  
  
The snow was cold, but the air wasn't. The bright sun beat down on the rushing figures of the miners and the merchants, but not strong enough to make a bystander break into sweat. Foxes don't sweat much, though, due to the fact that they don't have as much insulation as other animals (fat).  
  
"Do you see the palace from here?" Krystal pointed south. Fox nodded and Krystal smiled, "I'm making you stay for a day before you go." Fox smiled back. Krystal's short locks of hair fluttered in the slight breeze. That, combined with the fact that she was standing at the top of a cliff and wearing a very 'clean' tunic, made her look very majestic.  
  
"It's a six hour hike down, though, and it's already five in the afternoon. We'll be asleep by the time we're down," Fox pointed out.  
  
"No if we go down by sled," Krystal pointed at a large wooden board, "Strap yourselves down, boys, we're gonna go faster than sound. Well, maybe not..."  
  
**  
  
"AAARGH!" Fox screamed as the sled pummeled from the snow right into the trees, throwing its passengers into the dirt.  
  
"Puh-toowie!" Peppy spat out sand and gravel, "That's gotta take at least four hours off our journey!"  
  
"What do you mean? We're right here," Krystal pointed up the hill. The palace stood at the top, awaiting the company of three, "Home for me, hotel for you."  
  
**  
  
"You made it back!" Kohan cried happily, jumping up and down and hugging Krystal tight, "You idiot, your highness, do you know how worried we were when we heard you were captured by the rogues?"  
  
"Get off, Kohan, I'm flattered," Krystal pushed the Prime Minister away and greeted several others of the Legislative and Executive Councils, all of whom were glad to see her back. The halls suddenly burst with activity, with servants going this way and that, serving every possible need that the Queen had.  
  
"Get the cooks!" Kohan yelled, practically ignoring Fox and Peppy, "Feast tonight, and I don't care how they prepare it!"  
  
**  
  
"Mmm, good food," Peppy said, helping himself to mashed carrots. Peppy had gotten pretty fond of them by now. Fox, instead, helped himself to pie and fish. Krystal didn't even have time to eat; everyone was crowding around and asking her how she survived the wild.  
  
"Well, I had my staff... And I had the help of two daring warriors, one of whom I've grown to like during the past few weeks," Krystal smiled sweetly at Fox. Fox blushed and busied himself with his tuna. Peppy snickered and flicked a piece of lettuce at him, hoping to make the young vulpine even more agitated, if possible.  
  
"Quit it," Fox muttered darkly. Peppy snickered again, but stopped.  
  
"Fox," Krystal whispered in Fox's ear as she shooed off the maids and the butlers, "Let's go to the springs tonight, just the two of us."  
  
**  
  
"How'd you get out without anyone noticing?" Fox asked. Krystal huddled close to Fox, watching the ripples in the water and the splashing of the waterfall.  
  
"It's a trick I've learned. People don't like to follow you when you jump out a window," Krystal sighed and lay down on the smooth and short grass. Fox picked a blade of the green stuff, bent down, and tickled Krystal's ear.  
  
"If that gets in my head, I'll kill you," Krystal pulled Fox towards her and she bit on Fox's neck sharply.  
  
"Hey- Ow!" Fox nuzzled Krystal's shoulder with his snout. She giggled, which was quite unlike her personality, being rugged for a vixen. Krystal grabbed Fox's tail from behind him and tugged playfully.  
  
"Careful not to crush me," Krystal whispered in Fox's ear, "Despite what you think, I get hurt easily." Fox grinned evilly and pinched her forearm. Krystal yelped and shoved Fox onto his back.  
  
"Hey!" Fox chuckled as she nibbled his ear with the sharp but gentle canine teeth. Fox puffed out air at her neck, which made her yelp again from the moist air.  
  
"Look at us, acting like newborn kits," Krystal laughed and used her knuckled to rub on Fox's skull. It was his turn to yelp loudly as she laughed harder. Turning her again, Fox shoved forcefully into her shoulder and flipped her over, landing on her stomach.  
  
"This will be the last time we watch the stars together, you know," Fox said softly, looking into Krystal's eyes thoughtfully. She shook her head slowly.  
  
"It won't be, but if that's what you think, then make tonight special," Krystal gazed back into his emerald orbs. Fox breathed in slowly and leaned forward. She waited patiently. Fox felt a warm, fuzzy feeling as their lips touched gently. Krystal kissed back, and Fox held their kiss for as long as he could before his biceps turned rubbery and he had to collapse on Krystal, making her giggle again.  
  
"Is this love?" Fox asked, sounding like a little kit again. Krystal shrugged.  
  
"Might be, but I wouldn't know," Krystal pushed Fox up and they kissed again, but this time involving a bit more lip.  
  
**  
  
"Bye, Krystal," Fox called, waving from the Great Fox's boarding hatch. Peppy nudged him, but Fox didn't notice.  
  
"Good-bye, Fox," Krystal called back. The townspeople cheered loudly, with Kohan and Krystal at the front, waving wildly, as the latch closed with a hiss. Fox couldn't help but feel a sinking in his stomach.  
  
"Too bad, Fox," Peppy clapped him in the shoulder, heading towards the cockpit. Fox sighed miserably, but didn't say a thing until they blasted off into space, leaving so much behind them.  
  
"I'll miss her," Fox declared suddenly. Peppy looked at him from the captain's seat.  
  
"Of course you will, Fox, of course you will," Peppy sighed, too, "But there are things back on Corneria that just might need us. You'll never know, but you should always find out."  
  
Fox look into the depths of the galaxy, looking at the twinkling stars that he spent so many hours under with his first and only love.  
  
**  
  
A/N: I think I made it a little short, but whoops, what's this?  
  
*Epilogue*  
  
Fox sighed as he gazed at the natural lights that dotted the sky at night. It was a month after he left Cerinia, and he left half of his life behind. Krystal was still millions of light years away from him, and so was the planet that shared with him life and death. But something else also happened, but seemed tiny under the circumstances: The Arwing was gone.  
  
Fox decided it must've been a kit that decided to climb the engine bay opening and shove the wheeled jet out and away into the forest. Fox wouldn't miss it; he had already built another one.  
  
Peppy was still at the hanger, sleeping his snore-full sleep, but Fox wanted to go outside and breathe in the fresh air before he was whisked away to the army camp, but at least it wouldn't be boot camp.  
  
Suddenly, a dark blue speck flew across the dark sky, leaving behind it a trail of almost invisible smoke. It landed a few miles away, probably at the Cornerian Army's hanger.  
  
"A bit late for training, isn't it?" Fox asked himself, "Ah, it must be a new program."  
  
Fox ignored it after he had a little conversation with himself about how training in the darkness was good experience, before a rustle in the grass and bush in the clearing he was in beside the town distracted him.  
  
"Peppy? Decided to join me, huh?" Fox snorted, his breath catching the wind. Peppy walked up behind him and put a paw on his shoulder.  
  
"Thinking about her again, aren't you?" Peppy said in a higher voice than his own did. The helium tank probably burst again, either that or the bacteria in his mouth got into his windpipe or something.  
  
"Yeah, I don't- What the- Krystal!" Fox jumped up and tackled the vixen down and hugged her hard on the ground.  
  
"Ack, stop it, Fox! You're crushing my ribs!" Krystal chuckled. Fox looked into her eyes and sensed her mischievous nature again.  
  
"Okay, what did you do with my Arwing?" Fox said in a mock-strict tone.  
  
"Oh, Kohan made a copy of the warp drive for me and I decided to come live with you here," Krystal licked Fox on the snout in a playful manner. Nibbling on Fox's neck, she continued, "He's really a good mechanic, really, something that you don't expect from some general who lived with people in the Iron Age for his whole life."  
  
"What? What about the throne?" Fox asked, bewildered.  
  
"I thought full democracy was better and some old Queen any day," Krystal smiled. Fox looked at her for a second, feeling that she really didn't want to be a queen anyway. Who would, having people demanding lower taxes every day?  
  
"I really missed you," Fox slowly and passionately kissed Krystal. She giggled softly, muffled by Fox's lips.  
  
"I told you this wasn't going to be our last night together."  
  
**  
  
A/N: Ah, now it's done. Thank you. Bow before me, and I just might write a sequel. Whoops, excuse me, my brain just went into overdrive. Yes, brain work now... Clones, yes, clones... I'm obsessed with clones, in case you haven't noticed. I consider cloning a very complex and interesting subject. Hey, my clone buddy is here... Hiya, Matti... 


	11. Begin Sequel: Home sweet somewhere

Disclaimer: I don't own StarFox or the characters created by Nintendo. Understand me? Good.  
  
Introduction: I wrote this because if I continued on my other story, then things will get a lot less action-y. Everything is different, well, almost everything. Erm. History changed because some weird dude messed with a time machine. This was supposed to be the sequel to The Queen and the Common Engineer, but I like having lots of reviews in one place ^_^  
  
  
  
*Prologue*  
  
"The emperor will reward us well, when he awakens."  
  
"I think that burrito you ate for lunch got to your brain! This project can go wrong in so many ways, you know."  
  
"Ah, stop being so pessimistic, you idiot. We need a leader, and you don't seem to have the right mind for it."  
  
"Ugh, look at that blob."  
  
"That blob is our new emperor, you moronic... Moron."  
  
"I didn't think chameleons had big brains."  
  
"What? Are you being specieist again? Well, seals don't really slim down over time, do they?"  
  
"Ah, go suck an egg."  
  
"Go suck fish."  
  
"Shut up!"  
  
*End prologue*  
  
"Whazzit, General?" Fox slurred, yawning. General Peppy must've had a real emergency to wake him up at five in the morning, maybe something like swallowing a toothpick.  
  
"How's the training coming along?"  
  
"What? I'm finished the academy," Fox groaned and flipped over on his bed, holding the communicator over his head. The white sheets fell down the bed and landed on Fox's boots and pilot gloves.  
  
"No, the new pilot. Erm, Crandle, her name was?" The dog thought hard, his forefinger and thumb placing a philosophical figure on his chin.  
  
"Krystal? Oh, she's doing fine," Fox mumbled. That was half-true; Krystal had managed to get top maneuvering scores on the new Arwing, but her shooting was almost as bad as Peppy's noodle soup. It was pretty good for a queen who just quit the throne, come to think of it.  
  
"Good, good. Well, the problem over here is that I swallowed a toothpick," the General coughed, "I need your expertise to get it out." Fox burst into hysterical laughter for three minutes before he could calm down and face Pepper again.  
  
"What do you want me to do? Fly a micro-Arwing into your esophagus and blast it away?" Fox cried in mirth, tears of laughter falling down his fuzzy cheeks.  
  
"Don't you have a doctor's degree?"  
  
"Yeah," Fox sighed, trying to get air back into his lungs, "A bachelor's, only. All I can recommend is to wait and let your stomach acid dissolve the fiber bonds so it can come out your butt in the form of feces."  
  
"Uh, thanks," General Pepper said before closing the line. Fox lay back onto the mattress and fell into hysterics again.  
  
"Oh, the irony of having such a dumb leader!" Fox yelled, still laughing away like a hyena.  
  
"Eh?" Peppy called from his cabin, "I hear ya, Sergeant Fox."  
  
"Huh? Aren't you the captain of the Great Fox?"  
  
"."  
  
"Thought so."  
  
**  
  
"Training again today?" Krystal asked, chewing down her salmon with her sharp teeth. Fox went up behind her while Peppy was tending to his fried carrots and placed soft kisses on her neck. Krystal moaned in pleasure before slapping him off, "I hate it when you do that."  
  
"You sure don't seem like it," Fox chuckled and collapsed down on his chair and wolfed down his tuna.  
  
Krystal had quite taken to wearing a loose shirt with shorts, dark green or black. It partly was because that she wanted freedom from wearing dresses most of her life. It was also standard procedure for any StarFox member to wear a triangular belt, so she did one, too. Occasionally slapping on a vest like Fox's, she could've passed for any regular citizen of Corneria. She tossed her sandals away in a closet and settled for regular running shoes. Krystal also occasionally, on practice sessions, stole a pair of Fox's pilot gloves.  
  
Fox took the liberty of training Krystal to be a wingvixen, just because Fox ditched engineering to become a mercenary. It was good action and money, but sometimes missions were scarce. Peppy sometimes left Rob the Robot to take care of the piloting of the Great Fox to jump into his own old Arwing and accompany Fox in shooting space pirates. Even though it was six years since he actually flew, his skills didn't rust at all.  
  
"Mission update?" Fox asked Peppy, who finished frying and dumped the carrots onto a platter.  
  
"Eh, your usual mutated Titanian beast run wild. The president of Titania offered us six hundred thousand credits, can you imagine that?" Peppy scoffed, "People these days are way too generous with money. That thing can buy me a new Great Fox, or neutral the mortgage on this one."  
  
"You say it like a bad thing," Fox snorted. Krystal shook her head in disbelief.  
  
"That money can go towards schools and hospitals! Why can't they just offer us less? We're dead bored anyway, and we'll take any job they give us," she exclaimed.  
  
"Yeah, but they don't have to know that," Fox waved his fork around. Peppy snickered and Krystal stared.  
  
"Wow, you are stingy with money."  
  
"Am I?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Oh really?" Fox whispered as Peppy finished his breakfast and went to the cockpit. Fox wrapped his arms around Krystal's waist and kissed her neck again. She hummed peacefully and placed her paws on Fox's paws.  
  
"You have to stop doing that," Krystal hissed in his ear. Fox frowned.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because you're not giving my poor lips any attention," Krystal smiled as she pressed her snout against Fox's, "How long has it been since I first met you?"  
  
"Oh around five weeks, two of them you've spent here," Fox went back to kissing Krystal's neck.  
  
"You're not really romantic, are you?"  
  
"Don't you think watching stars and sunsets are romantic?" Fox grinned evilly and started to lick Krystal's neck, making her squeal in delight.  
  
"Hmm, they are very."  
  
***  
  
"Yes, he is ready."  
  
"Good. I hate waiting."  
  
"Open the hatch."  
  
There was a loud hiss and the tube ejected the fluid out on the floor along with a gray figure, dripping wet.  
  
"Your highness."  
  
The figure looked up, revealing pointy ears and a pointy snout.  
  
"Good work, gentlemen. I'll see to it that you will be repaid for your efforts."  
  
"You are too kind, your highness."  
  
"Did you read the memo I sent for you to do if I died?"  
  
"Yes, your highness, word by word, or else you wouldn't be here now."  
  
"Good, good, so the army is ready?"  
  
"As ready as ever."  
  
"Beautiful."  
  
"Yes, indeed, your highness Albert Hemstrum."  
  
**  
  
A/N: Holy cow that was short! Whatever, action will come, and maybe Fox will get a bit more romantic, as if butterfly kisses weren't enough... 


	12. Life goes on, and Fox is how we know him

Disclaimer: I don't own StarFox or the characters created by Nintendo. Understand me? Good.  
  
Introduction: I wrote this because if I continued on my other story, then things will get a lot less action-y. Everything is different, well, almost everything. Erm. History changed because some weird dude messed with a time machine. This was supposed to be the sequel to The Queen and the Common Engineer, but I like having lots of reviews in one place ^_^  
  
  
  
"Ack, bah!" Peppy stared at the report of the creature. Fox glanced over from his pilot seat. Krystal also turned from the co-pilot chair.  
  
"What's the matter?" Krystal asked curiously.  
  
The team meets in the cockpit to get an analysis of the planet and the enemy they were dealing with every mission. The cockpit was colored dark metallic with terrible lighting. The lift out was behind the captain's seat, which was in the middle of the room. Electronics littered the sides of the room, along with computer screens and keyboards nailed to the walls.  
  
"The thing's half a mile tall!" Peppy shook the paper at Fox. He raised an eyebrow.  
  
"So? We've taken on bigger things before," Fox shrugged, unshaken, as well as Krystal.  
  
"Yeah, but the last time we did the Great Fox got a dent on its side and my Arwing lost a wing!"  
  
"Pun?"  
  
"You idiot," Peppy mumbled. Fox and Krystal laughed at his strange, slumped figure, his big feet lolling out of the captain's seat.  
  
"Ah, we're here. Let's go launch the Arwings; I don't trust those magnetic storms raiding the Great Fox," Fox said while pointing at the rust- colored planet of Titania.  
  
"Do you think I've had enough training?" Krystal asked Fox.  
  
"No, not yet," Fox shook his head. Krystal frowned and stood up. Wrapping her arms around him from behind, she nibbled gently on his ear.  
  
"Aw, come on, Foxy. Please?" She whispered cutely. Fox sighed.  
  
"Oh, fine."  
  
"That always works, doesn't it?" Smiling, Krystal pinched Fox's cheek playfully and skipped off to the hanger. Peppy snickered at Fox.  
  
"Geez, she easily takes advantage of you, doesn't she?" Peppy snorted. Fox groaned and slapped Peppy on the head as he followed Krystal.  
  
**  
  
Titania had cleaned up since the day Albert Hemstrum decided to use it as target practice for his long-range laser. The towns were rebuilt, new wells were dug, and the mines were opened up again. The reason that Titania was so red was because of its rich iron and gold deposits. The iron rusts and makes the surface look reddish. It was dead hot, but animals living there learned to wear bright white to reflect the sun's rays.  
  
"Ouch, look at that," Peppy pointed at the ground below. The township down there seemed to have been trampled by some big monster. Towers and buildings lay in heaps and there were little dots that looked like rescue crews trying to flip over the wreckage.  
  
"Yeah, follow the trail of destruction and we'll find our target," Fox said sarcastically. Krystal hummed.  
  
"Maybe that's what we should do," Peppy suggested. Fox snapped his head up suddenly and looked over the horizon.  
  
"Ah, but we don't need to do that, Peppy. See that mountain?" Fox pointed. Peppy squinted through the windshield of his Arwing to see it. It was a large red heap, nothing unusual in the desert plains. Mountains and hills outcrop over the desert all the time. Peppy nodded over the cam- radio. Fox coughed, "That's not a mountain. If it was, why is it shooting at us?"  
  
Almost out of nowhere, a large rock was flung towards the group of three Arwings. It caught Peppy off guard and bumped the underside of his jet, making a small dent.  
  
"Ack! Shoot back!" Peppy yelled and started firing lasers at the mountain.  
  
The creature felt the burning holes on its skin and looked up. Its face was hideous. It sort of reminded Fox of the movie he saw on the system's ugliest animals. The thing didn't have any hair, and it seemed to be covered in a sort of thick hide. It didn't move very fast, but it could spit rocks from its gaping hole of a mouth. It didn't have any lips, either and its eyes were almost unnoticeable slits. The nose was sharp, but it looked turned up, showing Fox its nostrils. The cheeks were huge and fat, bloated, almost. Its limbs were oversized and its head and body were grossly undersized. Strangely, Fox had seen uglier things, like Peppy's tofu meatballs. Fox could've sworn the thing resembled one of the meatballs that he choked on.  
  
"Whoops," Krystal said as she accidentally shot Fox, "Maybe I should launch a Nova Bomb?"  
  
"Try it," Fox shrugged. A loud click was heard as the latch on Krystal's Arwing snapped and a red bomb with a blue streak of smoke trailing behind it was released, right on the creature. It howled in pain as the bomb struck. A large chuck of its arm fell off, along with its legs.  
  
"I think it's mad," Peppy whistled, amused, as the thing started to spit rocks like a machine gun.  
  
"U-turn and lets get him from a farther distance," Fox suggested. His teammates obeyed and turned. A minute later, they turned again, then shot. It was easier once his skin was half off, because his flesh seemed much more sensitive than his rock-hard hide.  
  
"Yay!" Krystal giggled sheepishly as she shot open the thing's skull and its brain, small as it is, spilled all over the ground. Peppy and Fox cheered as they zoomed back to the capital of Titania.  
  
"Pay..."  
  
"Check!" Fox finished for Peppy.  
  
***  
  
"You have to give him credit, your majesty, he is a lot better than our pilots," the brown seal said, watching the wall-sized screen as three Arwings blasted the monster's head off, along with the cameras inside its eyes.  
  
"He is, won't you say, Commander Flyeater?"  
  
"I would say so myself," the chameleon said, also watching the screen intently.  
  
"Colonel Shrimper, organize a trio of our top spies. Try to get a blood sample from each of them. Hack into their mother ship, but don't kill any of them if you don't have to."  
  
"Yes, sir," the seal saluted smartly and marched out the hydraulic door. It shut with a hiss behind him.  
  
"What would that be for, your highness?" The chameleon asked politely.  
  
"There will be no use for the bloodshed of our soldiers if they can shed blood on themselves."  
  
"I don't understand, sir."  
  
"You will, my old friend, you will."  
  
***  
  
"Let's order a pizza and celebrate!" Fox said waved the check over his head. Peppy shook his head.  
  
"No, let's go to the bank first and pay off our debts," Peppy sighed, "Do I need to remind you of that time when you spent over ten thousand credits on pizza?"  
  
"Well, that was years ago, Peppy," Fox muttered, "Besides, that squadron did save our lives, so I had to buy them something. Besides, you got us into that mess."  
  
"How was I supposed to know that jackal was a fugitive? He seemed nice enough when he let us on his cab for free."  
  
"He wasn't that nice when he pointed a gun to our heads and threatened to shoot us," Fox scratched his ear, as if checking that it was okay, "Lucky that laser missed me."  
  
"Peppy, if we go back to Corneria and pay back your debts, then wouldn't be bedtime for me?" Krystal asked. Fox chuckled out of instinct as he climbed back into his Arwing.  
  
"I suppose, but we don't say bedtime here, Krystal. 'Bedtime' is for little kits," Fox snickered, but Krystal shut him up with a cold glare. She could be very mean and controlling if she wanted to, really.  
  
**  
  
"Aw, see, Peppy? No time for pizza," Fox yawned, stretching out on the long couch, his paws rubbing furiously on his green eyes. Peppy snorted and flung a carrot stick at Fox, hitting him squarely in the middle of his eyes. Fox just yawned again and stuffed the carrot down his throat. A moment later, Fox dropped off to sleep, breathing softly. Peppy gave him one look and his head crashed onto the kitchen table, snoring up a sandstorm.  
  
"Lazy bums," Krystal rolled her eyes and went off to bed, ignoring the two sleeping figures that were hunched awkwardly on a couch and a metal table.  
  
*Six hours later**  
  
"No trouble, I presume?"  
  
"None at all, sir. They were sleeping like they were injected with drugs."  
  
"Good. Have you got the blood samples?"  
  
"Yes, sir."  
  
"Well, start the cloning process!"  
  
"Right away, sir."  
  
"How long until the clones become active?"  
  
"If we hurry, we can release them with orders in four hours."  
  
"Wonderful. Maybe that fat seal head of yours didn't rot after all these years after all."  
  
**  
  
A/N: Mmm, mint chocolate... Lunchtime! 


	13. Trouble blends to make a bitter stew

Disclaimer: I don't own StarFox or the characters created by Nintendo. Understand me? Good.  
  
Introduction: I wrote this because if I continued on my other story, then things will get a lot less action-y. Everything is different, well, almost everything. Erm. History changed because some weird dude messed with a time machine. This was supposed to be the sequel to The Queen and the Common Engineer, but I like having lots of reviews in one place ^_^  
  
  
  
Krystal bit her tongue with her lips as she scribbled a note to Fox and Peppy, who were still asleep. 'Gone shopping: The fridge is empty. Be back in around two hours. Krystal: 10:30 AM.' After checking it to make sure that her English spelling was okay, Krystal picked Peppy's wallet from his back pocket and jogged off to town, the rest of the mission pay in tow.  
  
**  
  
'Um, shampoo, soap, frozen pizza,' Krystal checked the items in her head as she filled her paper bag by scraping Peppy's credit card on a magnetic reader and making the thing pop out from a little hatch at the bottom of the machine. These kinds of things made shopkeepers obsolete. 'Maybe Fox needs a new pair of boots, yeah. What's his size again? Wasn't it eleven and a half? That dog has big footpaws.'  
  
The finely made rubber boots rolled down the hatch and onto the floor in front of Krystal. Making another mental check of the inventory, Krystal happily strolled back to the Great Fox's hanger to deliver the goods and see how Peppy reacts to a stolen credit card.  
  
Bumping out of the general store with a large bag balancing dangerously in her arms, the blue vixen made her way on the sidewalk by kicking people in the shins. Hovercars sped by the busy street with tremendous whirs and clicks of gears. Krystal was just about to hail a cab to help her carry the things when Fox's orange-furred face came into view.  
  
"Need help?" Fox asked in a strange tone. Krystal nodded and Fox took the bag for her. Krystal looked at the fox before her and noticed something weird about him.  
  
"What are you doing here?" Krystal raised an eyebrow at Fox. He didn't seem to have much trouble carrying it, but more balancing it than anything. Krystal suddenly noticed that Fox's nametag was gone from his jumpsuit and the StarFox pin was gone from his jacket.  
  
"Thought I'd help," Fox marched down an alleyway that Krystal was sure he didn't usually take.  
  
"Where're you going?"  
  
"Shortcut," Fox said simply. Not after three steps that Krystal was in the alley, the sounds of the street were blocked off. Total silence was heard. Krystal looked around suspiciously, noticing a dead end ahead, but when she looked back at Fox, he had stopped. Instead, he had turned around and was pointing a blaster at Krystal. Krystal chuckled.  
  
"If this is some kind of sick and demented joke, stop it," Krystal said sternly. Fox shrugged and put away his blaster. But after Krystal could say anything, he flipped over a garbage can, took a glass bottle that was inside, and flung it with all his strength at Krystal. She screamed as it missed her, but hit the wall behind her. The glass shards broke apart and flew all over the place. The last thing Krystal could remember before blacking out was the grinning face of Fox leaning over her.  
  
**  
  
"Ugh, I'm hungry," Peppy licked his lips and crumpled up the note that Krystal wrote, "Where's that darn vixen?" Fox frowned disapprovingly.  
  
"She's just probably buying you a gift or something. With her, she's bound to spend some money and some extra time buying a present or two," Fox chuckled, "She's only half an hour late, Peppy. Be patient!"  
  
"No! I want my carrots!" Peppy fumed. Fox sighed in disgust and slipped on his white vest with the StarFox pin, partly obscuring his nametag.  
  
"I'll go look for her. Jeez, you need some chill pills, old bunny," Fox waved goodbye to a snorting hare and jumped out the door.  
  
**  
  
"Now, where's that little girl?" Fox muttered to himself, as he looked into the windows of every shop possible in the tiny town. Giving up after half and hour of searching, Fox sighed and went back home, thinking Krystal went back already.  
  
On his way back, he noticed an alleyway. In front of the alleyway was the most unusual: A boot. Not some old beat up boot that someone would throw away carelessly, but a nice gray one, but just one of a pair. Fox, looking down at his own footpaws, noticed that the old ones he had on were the same size as they were. 'Huh, strange. I wonder who has feet as big as mine?' Fox craned his neck to look into the alleyway and noticed a bag near the entrance. It held the groceries that Peppy wanted.  
  
"Krystal!" Fox yelled, running into the alley, thinking that his wingvixen had been attacked, although nothing like that happened in the town. In a corner near a dead end, Fox found her, a crumpled heap on the ground near sharp glass shards. Gasping, Fox rushed to her side, and when he flipped her head up to look at her, he saw blood, and lots of it, staining the left side of her head. Fox noticed a large shard sticking out of her neck and quickly removed it. The action woke Krystal up.  
  
"Ung..." She whimpered quietly. Fox held her to his chest and patted the top of her head.  
  
"It's okay, it's okay. I'm here. It's me, Fox," Fox whispered. Krystal, upon hearing that screamed and backed away into the wall, her eyes open in fright. Fox looked at her in surprise.  
  
"Get away," she croaked hoarsely. Fox shifted towards her and she flinched.  
  
"What? What's going on?" Fox looked around the place that they were in. He saw nobody else and nothing else except for the brick walls that were surrounding them, "Who did this to you?"  
  
"You!" Krystal screamed before she bolted upright and ran off. Fox, totally bewildered, ran after her, his paws stained with her warm blood. Bystanders stared at Fox and Krystal and whispered to each other. Most ran to the phone to call the police, but Fox and Krystal kept running, right to the Great Fox where Peppy just had a confrontation...  
  
*Ten minutes ago*  
  
Krystal stumbled into the Great Fox empty-pawed. Peppy, who was still sitting at the table, twiddling his thumbs, looked at her in anger.  
  
"Where's the food?" Peppy asked loudly, "Do you know how long I've waited?"  
  
"No, I don't," Krystal said calmly. Peppy stared at her suspiciously. Her slight British accent was suddenly gone.  
  
"Where's Fox? Didn't he bump into you?" Peppy asked, shrugging off the strangeness. Krystal's eyes were cold and her irises seemed a darker green than before.  
  
"Nope. I was supposed to bump into you," Krystal sneered as she pulled out a large knife from her belt and slashed it at Peppy. Peppy leaned backward just in time and avoided being sliced apart. His second dodge wasn't so lucky; Krystal's knife caught him in the arm and sliced a deep cut along the entire length of it. Peppy screamed in agony and tackled Krystal down and tried to wrench the knife away from her.  
  
"What the hell are you doing?" Peppy demanded. Krystal kicked him away on his back and didn't answer his question. Raising the knife in a position to stab him, Krystal yelled a cry as she plunged the blade down. Peppy twitched and Krystal's knife missed him. It got lodged in the tiny ceramic space between the tiles. Peppy had just enough time to roll away and grab a butcher knife from the kitchen counter and stab it in her throat. She made an odd noise and spurted blood from her mouth. Peppy shivered in horror as he slid the knife quickly out and dropped it, watching as Krystal's blood stained the floor. Peppy's breathes came in ragged stops and he backed away as far as possible from the corpse, sobbing silently.  
  
A few minutes later, Peppy, still in a corner, heard loud footsteps outside the kitchen. Krystal barged in, looking horrified. Her face was covered in blood and she was panting heavily. She took one look at her own corpse and then at Peppy and fainted cold. Fox crashed in a second later, nearly tripping over the unconscious Krystal and nearly puking at the sight of the dead Krystal.  
  
"Peppy," Fox panted as they exchanged looks between each other, "We have a lot of explaining to do, but you first."  
  
**  
  
A/N: Okay that was weird. Just two more chapters and I'm done with this fiction! Yay! Oops, I think Josh's Krystal is coming after my blood. I know I ripped off my own idea, but wasn't that smart of me? That grocery scene was also in my other fic, but who cares? The situation is totally different! 


	14. This isn't gonna end well

Disclaimer: I don't own StarFox or the characters created by Nintendo. Understand me? Good.  
  
Introduction: I wrote this because if I continued on my other story, then things will get a lot less action-y. Everything is different, well, almost everything. Erm. History changed because some weird dude messed with a time machine. This was supposed to be the sequel to The Queen and the Common Engineer, but I like having lots of reviews in one place ^_^  
  
  
  
"So, which one is the real Krystal?" Peppy asked in a shaky voice, his eyes traveling from one of them to the other. Fox hesitated, then remembered the groceries lying in front of the Krystal he found in the alleyway bleeding.  
  
"She is," Fox jerked his thumb towards the unconscious Krystal, "She said I attacked her, but that was probably someone else, too."  
  
"Wait a sec, Fox. Come here. Do her eyes look normal?" Peppy lifted up the eyelid of the dead Krystal. Fox looked closely at her eyeball.  
  
"It's a bit darker. Our Krystal's eyes are an emerald green," Fox muttered. Peppy sighed in weariness.  
  
"I don't believe it. She's been cloned. Clones tend to have darker eyes than the originals," Peppy slouched down in the corner again, wiping the tears from his eyes, "But who would do such a thing, and why? Revenge is my opinion."  
  
"Who would want revenge so badly? We usually get hate-mail these days from terrorist groups, but we only tackled two in the last month," Fox got a towel from the kitchen and, kneeling, wiped up the blood on the real Krystal's face.  
  
"Albert Hemstrum, that's who," Peppy frowned, "That jackass. He's probably been cloned, too." Fox stroked Krystal's hair gently with a paw as he removed the smaller glass shards from her face. She whimpered slightly as he did so, but didn't wake up. Fox sat down slowly as he thought.  
  
"If they cloned Krystal, they had probably cloned us, too," Fox said, "Watch your back, Pep. There's still two of them out there." Fox sighed and kissed Krystal lightly on the forehead. She stirred and woke up. Opening her eyes, she saw Fox's face and flinched.  
  
"Nothing like a kiss to wake the sleeping beauty," Peppy chuckled, "Don't worry, Krystal. It's the real Fox."  
  
"Really? Well, then, Fox, what did you want for me to buy this morning?" Krystal asked in a hoarse voice.  
  
"I didn't want anything," Fox smiled at her trick question. She smiled back and cuddled up comfortably on his lap. Krystal whispered 'thank heavens' to herself over and over again as she hugged Fox tight.  
  
"We have a lot to explain to the police tonight," Peppy said, jerking his head in the dead clone's body. Fox shook his head, using body language to say 'not now'. Peppy nodded his head understandingly and went to get bandages for Krystal, who was sighing in happiness in Fox's arms.  
  
"Next time you go shopping, bring me for protection, will you?" Fox grinned slightly down at the vixen. Krystal hummed in agreement as she bent up and kissed Fox's lips lovingly.  
  
"Good idea."  
  
"Brilliant, really," Fox said, imitating a thick British accent. Krystal slapped him playfully and he retaliated by knocking her down and kissing mercilessly on her neck. It was a wonder how he found humor in the darkest of times.  
  
As Fox let up and looked into her eyes, they both knew in that instant that they didn't have an I-have-a-crush-on-you relationship. They both loved each other very deeply, but as with their stubborn tempers, they didn't admit it. Fox broke the silence by tickling Krystal in the stomach. She giggled non-stop before Peppy intruded with a small first aid kit.  
  
"Oh, am I interrupting something?" Peppy smiled sadistically as he watched the two foxes scurry quickly away from each other, "Wait, you don't have to answer that."  
  
**  
  
It was definitely a hell of a time explaining a dead clone body to the police, but they understood after six hours of interrogating. The clone was to be buried with an informal service in three weeks, so Fox didn't need to worry about the safety of himself or more importantly, Krystal's safety, just yet. After an exhausting walking trip from the town back to the hanger in the shadow of the night, Peppy fell asleep right away after eating half a carrot on his bed.  
  
Fox watched as Krystal slowly fell asleep on the long couch, her fur still in a matted mess. No matter, though, she was still beautiful.  
  
--  
  
Mental journal, Fox McCloud, 2002 C.D., May 26, 11:16 PM:  
  
She looks so peaceful lying there, so innocent. Albert Hemstrum is one sick bastard, that I am certain of. Cloning me, I can understand, but her: A complete stranger to him? What has she done to him?  
  
Albert is a genius, for one thing. He knows how to attack an enemy: Through their hearts. He knows that Krystal is a close friend, and he just had to try to kill her to tear me apart inside. He's a sly one, even for a member of the vulpine species. I hate him. He takes pleasure in killing, but don't I sometimes? I took pleasure in killing Lain, didn't I? That makes me a lot like him in some ways.  
  
No, I am nothing like Dr. Hemstrum. I am able to care about my friends, my family. He can't. He just thrusts his soldiers mercilessly into battle, regardless of the deaths. I can feel emotion, I can feel pain, and I can feel love. Is that what I've been acting on lately? Do I really love Krystal? Why, that's one question I can certainly answer myself: Yes, yes, and triple yes.  
  
Yet, I can't help feeling that I can't do enough for her. She was a queen once, and she deserves better than the likes of me. She needs someone who can give her what she needs. I love her, but love isn't enough.  
  
--  
  
Fox sat down beside Krystal, stroking her hair again. It was silky soft, and so was her fur. Fox gently caressed her forehead, feeling the warmth of her head. Krystal stirred a little and opened her eyes, looking at Fox. She frowned a little.  
  
"What did you say about the dead clone in the police office?" She asked suspiciously.  
  
"I didn't say anything. Peppy told it all," Fox whispered, grinning at her alertness. He gently pressed his snout against hers, making her smile slightly under the kiss. Krystal pulled Fox slowly away by the tail.  
  
"Sleep now, share passion later," she yawned humorously and rolled over. Fox smiled and pecked her cheek before clicking off the lights to the den and going to bed.  
  
***  
  
"They are on to us, your highness. The clone of the vixen has been killed."  
  
"So be it. Withdraw the third clone and eliminate him before we get into too much trouble. We do not have the element of surprise now."  
  
"But sir-"  
  
"No buts, you fool. You are all fired until further notice. Go back to you lives," the gray fox shook his head and walked away from the dimly lit control room.  
  
"He has gone mad!" The seal exclaimed to the lizard.  
  
"So he has. Leave him be, and don't bother cloning him again. Venom is shutting down for good now."  
  
"But we CAN'T!"  
  
"Yes we can, you idiot. I have a wife and two sons to take care of, and I don't want to get hurt because of McCloud. He is too dangerous."  
  
"We're giving up too easily."  
  
"We are also giving up without pain. Let Albert be, and go home. This is over. It's all over."  
  
"But the clone of McCloud, he can still finish his job!"  
  
"He can't. They know too much now. Even if he does succeed, let them be, and don't you DARE link any of this to me or my family."  
  
"Yes, sir," the seal breathed in sharply as everyone left the room. The seal sighed and followed the rest out the door. It was a very easy victory for the Cornerians, but no defeat was taken for the Venomians, for they knew that the Cornerians didn't know of anything.  
  
"Albert, you old hack. The war you wanted between Venom and Corneria was all about Vixy, wasn't it?" The seal muttered under his breath as he set the self-destruct sequence to the base.  
  
**  
  
A/N: Cut it short, do nothing with it. I know it's a corny ending, but ya know, my brain is fresh out of ideas. What ending am I talking about? What has happened to the clone of Fox? Just one more chapter to go. The next chapter will be dark, I tell you, DARK! Ha, ha, ha! Well, maybe not that dark... Just seemingly miserable. Oh, yeah, for those StarFox fans who don't know, Vixy is Fox's mother. Yep! 


	15. The dull tool

Disclaimer: I don't own StarFox or the characters created by Nintendo. Understand me? Good.  
  
Introduction: I wrote this because if I continued on my other story, then things will get a lot less action-y. Everything is different, well, almost everything. Erm. History changed because some weird dude messed with a time machine. This was supposed to be the sequel to The Queen and the Common Engineer, but I like having lots of reviews in one place ^_^  
  
  
  
"Fox?" Krystal poked Fox in the cheek, but he didn't budge, "FOX!" He still slept on. Fox grunted and shifted his position on the bed, away from Krystal. What did you expect? It was four in the morning.  
  
Krystal sighed and slipped into the bed with Fox. She tugged roughly on his tail three times before he groggily woke with another grunt. Krystal giggled at his one, sealed shut, sleepy eye, and the other, more alert one. Krystal tugged at his shuteye to make it pop open.  
  
"Whaddaya want?" Fox slurred in half-sleep. Krystal rolled on top of Fox and dug her tongue into his mouth. He gurgled in surprise and twitched, "Whaddaya doin'?"  
  
"Share passion now, sleep later," she giggled. Fox's eyes snapped wide-open as he kissed her back. No time to sleep tonight.  
  
**  
  
"'Sleep later', huh? I couldn't sleep for three hours after that!" Fox sighed, planting soft kisses on a very content Krystal's neck. She chuckled and nibbled on his ear.  
  
"Hmm, you know we're still out of food, right?" Krystal whispered. Fox groaned merely out of laziness.  
  
"Aw, please not now. Just let me sleep for an hour and then I'll go with you, okay?" Fox pressed his snout hard on hers, but she slapped him away.  
  
"Get! Fine, if you don't want to go, I'll go alone," Krystal harrumphed. Fox tugged on her bushy tail as she got up, "Oh, don't worry, Fox. I'll bring a gun."  
  
"Bring two, just to make me sleep easier," Fox called after her. She craned her neck back in the bedroom cabin and smiled mischievously.  
  
"Oh, no way. I'm not that kind to you," she blew Fox a raspberry and went off, leaving him in hysterical laughter.  
  
**  
  
Needless to say, our clone friend was waiting outside the hanger, ready to catch the poor vixen in the early morning sun. He tackled her down and gagged her before she could do anything. Knowing that McCloud would go into the town and look for her there; he didn't go into town. Instead, he dragged Krystal away into the Great Fox and tied her up in the engineering bay.  
  
"Let me go!" Krystal screamed, her voice muffled by the dirty cloth gag. Fox's clone laughed.  
  
"Why would I do that?" The clone sneered, "I don't love you. I'm just a little clone, doing my job. Even though, McCloud probably doesn't love you either."  
  
"Of course he does," Krystal spat, "He'll look for me. I know he will." The clone reached into Krystal's large pocket and pulled out her blaster. He played with it for a while, a mad glint in his dark green eyes as he did so.  
  
"No, he won't. I've been programmed to have Fox's memories," the clone's sneer grew bigger, "He doesn't love you. He only acts like it because he's afraid of you."  
  
"What's there to be afraid of?" Krystal asked, suddenly stopping trying to wriggle her way out of the scratchy fiber ropes.  
  
"You're a queen, you moron, don't you realize that? He's afraid of you. He knows you have magical powers, and he's scared, just like any other stranger you've met who knows what you are."  
  
"So? I'm just a sorceress. That shouldn't change anything between us," Krystal said quietly, almost inaudible due to the gag still in her mouth.  
  
"Ah, but that's what you think," the clone laughed evilly, "He hates you, vixen. He wants you as far away as possible. Trust me, I want you dead, too. I'm just acting on the thoughts that Fox doesn't dare to even dream!" With that, he shoved knife from his belt into Krystal's shoulder. She screamed as the pain ripped through her body. Her blood soon soaked her jacket and shirt, a large black dot starting from her right shoulder.  
  
"Why?" Krystal managed to whisper. The clone laughed again and forcefully dug the small knife deeper. Krystal screamed louder as the blade reached her muscle and major nerves.  
  
"No one can hear you, idiot, so just be quiet and let me have some fun."  
  
**  
  
"Mmm," Fox stifled a yawn. He squinted his eyes as he flicked on the light. The light shone onto the blade Erik gave him. The short sword was still as sharp as ever, not even a bit of rust anywhere. Something awoke in him then. Something that he had forgotten a long time ago. He was an engineer. He was an engineer and a pilot. There was something that someone did to train him to be a warrior, but it wasn't Krystal.  
  
His father; his father taught him to fly. His father taught him to engineer. His father taught him to shoot a gun. Fox sighed as he picked up a photo he had of his father and him at a park. Fox was on top of James' shoulders, laughing merrily. How those times were easily forgotten. Fox remembered the Arwing engine that he had spent so much time on by request of his father. It was in his Arwing now. The engine... It was time to revisit something. It was time to go once more into the engineering bay.  
  
**  
  
"He'll come," Krystal screamed at the clone, "Fox will come! I know he will!"  
  
"Why should he?" The clone chuckled. Krystal fell silent again, not even sobbing of the pain in her shoulder. The blade was still there and it hurt.  
  
"He'll come," Krystal said simply.  
  
**  
  
Fox grinned weakly as the lift door swung open. He heard something that made his heart freeze. Krystal!  
  
"He-"  
  
"Will not save you," the clone laughed again.  
  
"Yes he will," Fox said, his eyes fixed on his own clone. The duplicate stared at Fox. There was an awkward silence between the two, which was broken by a battle cry from the clone. Fox didn't see Krystal's blaster in his paw until it was too late. The clone shot, and hit. Fox collapsed a moment later with a hole in his chest.  
  
"Pathetic moron," the clone muttered. Krystal looked at Fox in shock. He was still groaning, but he couldn't do anything now. Krystal felt silent tears running down her cheek as the clone turned back to her, "Now, where were we?"  
  
Fox lay on the ground, barely able to breathe. His right lung had been punctured, and every breath he took just sucked more air out. He was very close to the table he used as a kit to build things. He groped around for something; something he knew was there that would save him. Aha! The old flat head screwdriver that he wanted to throw away for so many years.  
  
"Hey, remember this?" Fox wheezed at the clone. He turned to see Fox sitting up with the large screwdriver in his paw, "Dad always said it would come in use." Grunting with all the effort he had in his arm, Fox flung it at the clone. His shot caught his target; a very lucky shot. This time, the clone's turn had come to fall, but with a bloody screwdriver sticking out of his eye socket.  
  
"Fox!" Krystal sprang up and hopped toward Fox, spitting her gag out as she went. Fox groaned and fell down on the floor, unable to breathe, "No, no, don't go!"  
  
Fox didn't reply. His lungs ceased working, and he was going frigid. Krystal loosed her wrists away from the rope and held Fox's wound. He shuddered and clamped his paw on Krystal's arm.  
  
"Don't bother," Fox whispered, "I'm dead." Krystal's eyes flooded with tears once again as she heard those words. Acceptance was the only choice available.  
  
"Before you slip away from me, Fox, answer me one question," Krystal held Fox's arm, feeling the cold skin beneath his fur.  
  
"Ask away," Fox smiled weakly.  
  
"Do you love me?" Krystal asked. Her tears dripped down her cheeks in torrents.  
  
"Will this answer for you?" Fox asked. He pulled Krystal toward him and gave her the most tender, loving kiss he could. A second later, his heart stopped and his eyes closed for the last time.  
  
"It does, Fox. It does," Krystal whispered.  
  
**  
  
A/N: Aw, poor Fox. I just had to make someone die, though. Really. Wait a sec, didn't Fox sleep with Krystal? Time for the epilogue. 


	16. Epilogue

Disclaimer: I don't own StarFox or the characters created by Nintendo. Understand me? Good.  
  
Introduction: I wrote this because if I continued on my other story, then things will get a lot less action-y. Everything is different, well, almost everything. Erm. History changed because some weird dude messed with a time machine. This was supposed to be the sequel to The Queen and the Common Engineer, but I like having lots of reviews in one place ^_^  
  
  
  
*Epilogue*  
  
Krystal sighed as she looked out the palace window, her emerald eyes watering from remembering Fox again. Even now, eight years later, she still thought about him every day, and she doubted that she'd ever stop. She came back to Cerinia a few months after Fox died, with Peppy alongside her, of course.  
  
"Prime Minister," a maid knocked on Krystal's door, "Advisor Hare wishes to see you."  
  
"Well, send him in!" Krystal waved her off. Her window faced the east now; right toward the springs that she met Fox in. Beyond that, the Great Fox was parked again in the clearing, the paint starting to yellow due to the age.  
  
"Krystal?" Peppy opened the door and strolled in, "Thinking about Fox again, hmm?" Krystal nodded.  
  
"It's his birthday," she said. Peppy nodded.  
  
"Yes, it is, isn't it?" Peppy looked out at the summer sky, patting Krystal on the back; "Fox would've loved to spend his life with you. I know it."  
  
"He would've," Krystal sighed, "I love him so much."  
  
"There, there, Krystal," Peppy mussed up her hair like he used to do to Fox when he was younger, "He was a good dog, and we all know that. We all miss him."  
  
"Thanks, Pep," Krystal hugged the old hare and went off.  
  
**  
  
What a handful, that little kit was, always getting into trouble this and trouble that. He would disappear for days on end, either in the forest hunting pigs or with the foresters, sharing cider with his best 'uncle', Erik. He was energetic, wanting to do anything that involved moving. He was known to jump out of his third story bedroom window to play sports with the village children. First Advisor Kohan was steaming mad whenever the kit showed up with mud all over his tunic. Krystal would watch in wonder as the kit tried to climb the sheer vertical cliff on the riverside and play swords with the palace guards. He was a lot like his father when Fox was younger, according to Peppy.  
  
Today, though, Krystal found her kit in the springs, catching dragonfly larva in the water. Krystal leaned against a tree as the kit leapt this way and that, grabbing at the quick buggers. Being only seven, he was unusually strong and tall.  
  
"Oh, mom, I didn't see you there," the kit grinned his mysterious smile and jumped out of the water, dripping wet.  
  
"Didn't Kohan tell you to stay out of the forest, James?" Krystal smiled back and hugged her kit lovingly. Little James blushed.  
  
"Mom, stop it," James muttered. Krystal laughed and looked into the blue kit's eyes. They were green, but not Krystal's bright green. It was Fox's color, a deeper, more thoughtful jade. His eyes glinted with enthusiasm and his bushy tail, just like Krystal's, swung this way and that. His fur was a dark blue, although sometimes Krystal found an orange strand on his tail. His bright blue bangs hung just above his eyebrows. James loved to raise them, in the exact same manner that Fox would.  
  
"What? It isn't like anyone is here, is there?" Krystal tickled James' stomach and he laughed uncontrollably. After six minutes of no breathing, Krystal stopped it and James gasped for breath. He calmed down in no time and sat near the bank with his mother.  
  
"Mom?" James asked quietly, "Where did you meet dad?"  
  
"Well, me and Fox, it all started in this forest, right here, in these springs, right on this bank, in fact..."  
  
**  
  
A/N: Aw, how sweet. Well, anyway, fic done, go home. Oh, yeah: REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW, and REVIEW, REVIEW! 


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